Life of a Mercenary
by ExpendablesGirl07
Summary: Death... that doesn't matter. What matters is that you went out doing something worth it. We don't choose when we die. But we can choose how to spend our life, and for Jake Jensen and Sky Christmas, they've already made that choice... no matter how much they suffer in the process. Sequel to 'The Kids Are Alright'.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey there everyone! This is the sequel to 'The Kids Are Alright', and just like the last one it follows my OC Sky and Jake through their lives in their different dangerous career fields! For this story it'll be predominantly broken up into two parts. The first part is going to be mostly focusing on the Expendables with the Losers making appearances, since it'll be going through the events of the second Expendables movie. And the second part, or arc, of this story is going to focus mostly on the Losers since it'll be going through the events of _their_ movie. It's probably going to be longer than 'The Kids Are Alright' since I'm using two movies plus original chapters as well to work with. But anyway, I hope you guys like it!

Full Summary: No one is immortal. We've all got to die sometime and nothing anyone does is ever going to change that. Death is the cross that soldiers and mercenaries bear. It's the curse they're bestowed with. On the battlefield, when you're getting pinned down by bullets flying at you, death is never more prominent. But death... that doesn't matter. What matters is that you went out doing _something_ worth it. We don't choose when we die. But we can _choose _how to spend our life, and for Jake Jensen and Sky Christmas, they've already made that choice... no matter how much they suffer in the process.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Comarca of Estremadura, Portugal_

_May 12__th, __2012_

The _click clack_ of high-heels echoed through the stone hallway of the _Serpente_ compound located in the dense jungles of Portugal. The hallway was filthy with rats scurrying around the dirt and hay filled ground. There were small lights placed on the walls every few feet or so, doing little to light the dark and dank space. The owner of the heels looked around in absolute revulsion and disgust as she raised a black gloved hand to her nose, trying to make sure that not a speck of dust sullied her black pencil skirt, white shirt, and black jacket. Flanked on either side of her was a large Italian man with sunglasses on, despite the dark and an assortment of skull tattoos exposed by his short-sleeved shirt, and a man with a shaved head, a toothpick in between his teeth and a duffel bag in his hands.

They continued down the stone hall before it opened up into a much larger room where a small group of men with rifles stood in front of them. They were all dressed in military uniforms except for the one man in the front who wore a pair of jeans and a black button up shirt with his gun holsters visible. "Miss Moore," the man greeted in a thick accent upon spotting the beautiful business women in front of him. Her dark hair was left pinned up at the sides so it was easy to show the utter repulsion of her surroundings.

"Mr. Elias," the woman responded as amicably as she could muster as she looked at the dirty floor around her. "I see you haven't done much cleaning since the last time I've been here."

"Our cleaning woman has the night off," the man retorted sarcastically with a smile on his face.

Moore didn't look at all impressed by his wit. "Yes, well, why don't we get down to business so that I can get my merchandise and leave you gentlemen to maintaining your establishment."

"Do you have the money?" Elias asked without hesitation.

Moore snapped her fingers and immediately the man with the duffel bag stepped forward, zipping it open to show the stacks of money nearly bursting out of the top. "All five million is there, just as I said," she replied. Another snap of her fingers prompted the man to zip the bag back up and fall back into line beside her as a smile stretched across her cherry red lips. "Now, where are my investments?"

Elias let a slow smile spread across his face before he barked something at his soldiers in Portuguese. Within a split second the men all stepped out of the way, standing with their backs against the walls, leaving just Elias in their way. "Come, come, I'll show you to them," he said, turning to start walking. Moore followed after, looking on the ground to take care not to let her heels touch anything she deemed disgusting, while her two body-guards followed faithfully at her sides. "I thought you would not carry through with our arrangement. I am surprised."

"I'm a business woman, Mr. Elias," Moore replied without missing a beat. "The reason I am a business woman is because I separate emotion from my work and do what is best for _my_ wellbeing."

Elias let out a chuckle and mumbled something under his breath in his native language before they appeared in front of a door. He opened it up quickly, and led them out into a large and spacious hallway of a home. It was decorated luxuriously in shades of gold and red and Moore let her gloved hand fall from her nose and looked around approvingly. "This is much better," she smiled, dusting off her skirt. "I don't know why you insisted on dragging me through that tunnel if you had something like this to greet me with."

"Like I said, I wasn't sure you were going to hold up your end of the deal."

"So you were planning on killing me?" Moore asked in a detached way, almost as if she were talking about the weather. She gave a small nod and pursed her lips. "I can understand that. Although I don't believe my two boys here would've allowed that to happen."

"Two against an army?" Elias asked with a quirked eyebrow and amused smiled as he led them down the hall, stopping in front of a large set of double doors.

"They've faced worse odds," she smiled back before gesturing towards the doors. "Are they in here?"

Wordlessly Elias opened the door, allowing Moore and her two men to walk in. The room was large and spacious with an entire wall being made of glass windows, a bed pushed against the wall and a beautiful vanity mirror by the door in the room that led to a closet or perhaps a bathroom. In the middle of the room on their knees were two women. They both had light blonde hair and bright green eyes. One was wearing a pair of ripped and dirty jeans and a torn white t-shirt with some speckles of blood on it and the other, older woman, had on a black dress that ended just above her knees. The younger one had a large bruise on her pale face and the older one had a dried patch of blood stretching across her hair line. They both had bandanas tied in their mouths and their eyes were full of tears as they sobbed soundlessly into the gags. A soldier stood behind each of them holding guns to the back of their heads while their hands were tied behind their backs.

Moore's eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in anger as she whipped around to glare at Elias, pointing to the women in the room. "What is this?"

Elias looked surprised. "These are the women we've discussed."

"When I first approached you asking if you had anything that could suit my needs you told me that you had kidnapped two very pretty women from a _very_ wealthy man. I offered you double the money that you were asking for in ransom on the condition that they _not_ be harmed in _any_ way," she hissed, storming into the room with her guards at her heels, over to the two soldiers. She pulled one of their arms down so the gun was away and then shooed the other one off—the two only moved when Elias waved them off as well, moving to stand by their leader. "I don't appreciate damaged goods, Elias."

"My men got… _overeager_," he responded with a nonchalant shrug. "There is no lasting damage."

"I'll be the judge of that," Moore muttered, walking over so that she was in front of the two women. She crouched delicately so she was in front of the younger one and reached for her chin. The girl jerked back in fear, but Moore still grasped her face gently, turning it to the side so she could examine the sickly purple bruise on her cheek. It looked painful, but it would heal. She then looked towards the older one and frowned at the bloodstain. "What sort of head injury did she receive?"

"She fell on the floor."

Moore narrowed her eyes, not fooled at all. "Despite the damage, they'll heal. And they're both top dollar. They'll be very popular with my male clients." She motioned to her two guards. Immediately they pulled the gags off of the two women and Moore smiled at the two of them. "Can you two tell me your names?" The younger girl sobbed loudly now, ducking her face as tears poured down while the older woman looked hesitantly to the brunette. Moore just continued to smile. "Come now ladies, let's not be rude. I'm going to be taking you away from the place. I'll be taking you to a place better suited to people of your status. The least you can do is telling me your names."

The older woman stared a little longer before she opened her mouth. "D-Diane F-Fischer…" she muttered out, her voice broken by a small sob. "T-This is my daughter, Elizabeth."

"Diane and Elizabeth Fischer," Moore repeated before a wicked smile formed on her face. "Thank you for telling me that."

It was then that the room went into chaos.

Two large metal grapnels shot through the glass windows and burrowed themselves into the wall on the far end of the room, sending glass raining down on all the occupants. Before the two soldiers by the door had a chance to even twitch two knives flew through the room and pierced their throats, spurting blood as they fell to the ground. Elias watched in shock and horror before a knife ended up buried in his heart. Diane and Elizabeth watched in surprise as the two men that were behind them had moved towards the door, while the woman in front of them pulled out a knife from underneath her skirt and moved around to start cutting their ropes.

"Sky, get them hooked up and get ready!" Barney shouted as he and Lee closed the door and began to barricade it as shouts and sirens filled the compound.

"On it!"

"W-What is going on here?" Diane asked just as her hands were freed from their bindings.

"Mrs. Fischer, your husband sent us to retrieve you and your daughter and bring you home safely," the woman behind her, Sky, explained as she moved over to the discarded duffel bag, opening it quickly before yanking out a plastic mold that made the bag appear to be full of money. In reality there was a variety of weapons, gear and what looked like harnesses at the bottom of the bag. "I need you both to put these on," she said, tossing a harness at each of them.

"W-What are they for?" Elizabeth asked even as her mother started helping her into her harness.

"They're for getting you ladies out of here," Lee responded as he pulled out a gun from the waistband of his pants. "This compound is stationed at the top of an incline which was supposed to make it difficult for anyone to breach it."

"It turned out to be the opposite," Sky took over as she tossed her jacket off and ripped open her blouse, revealing a black sports bra and a harness already strapped to her chest and traveling out of view underneath her skirt. She reached into the bag and grabbed a black jacket and pulled it over her shoulders before she kicked her heels off and started shimming out of her skirt showing her black spandex and the rest of the harness. "We've got the rest of our men waiting at the base of this hill. You're going to zip-line down and they'll take care of you from there."

"Our transport is just a mile off so we'll drive over and get the hell out of here," Barney completed just as a banging started at the door. He cursed and pushed harder against the dresser he and Lee had maneuvered in front of the door. "Let's just move a tad faster here."

"Aye, aye," Sky saluted as she finished slipping into her black cargo pants. She started pulling out guns and knives and strapping them on. She turned and saw that Diane and Elizabeth were just about done with their harness and she smiled. "Alright ladies, let's get moving," she said moving towards the mother and daughter—being careful to step around the glass shards with her bare feet—to grab their belays and hook them onto the wire by the window. She hooked hers on and nudged them forward so they were standing on the ledge. "Diane, go first, Elizabeth wait three seconds and follow after and I'll be right behind you both providing cover. Barney, dad, don't take too long! Now go!"

Diane jumped out the window followed closely by her daughter and Sky jumped out afterwards. Without hesitation, Barney and Lee ran away from the door and pulled their shirts off so their harness were exposed and hooked onto the line, jumping out the window behind the three women. As he zipped through the trees, Lee kept a close eye on his daughter as she shot at the enemy soldiers below that tried to fire on them. She was cool under pressure and she made sure to keep the two women in front of her safe. Lee couldn't help but smile as he helped pick off some of the soldiers, before they gradually drifted away from the compound and further down the hill.

They started to slow before they appeared at the bottom where Caesar and Toll were standing on the back of a pick-up truck to catch them all as they came flying in. The two large men quickly unhooked Diane and Elizabeth while Sky let herself down, dropping to the ground, followed by her father and Godfather respectively. "Alright ladies, let's get you to the front," Toll said, quickly helping the women down with Barney's assistance. Yin stood at the open passenger door with his gun raised scanning the woods while Diane and Elizabeth piled in beside Gunnar who was at the driver's seat.

"Shit, I can't believe this plan actually worked," Caesar muttered as Yin shut the door and hopped into the back with the others.

Sky smiled up at the man before she heard shouts and what sounded like engines in the woods. She swapped out her empty magazine for a full one her dad handed her wordlessly before she held her gun up at the ready, lowering into a crouch. "We're not out of the woods yet… no pun intended."

"Gunnar, get us the hell outta here!" Barney ordered, hitting the top of the truck while Toll pulled the back door of the car closed.

"Got it!"

The truck shot off on the dirt path through the woods, jostling the six mercenaries in the back. They all quickly oriented themselves, gaining their footing on the truck bed just before three enemy vehicles drove out from the tree line, barreling towards them. "Take 'em out!"

The five mercenaries immediately began firing on the enemy vehicles. They concentrated fire on the first vehicle out in front before they managed to kill the drivers and the soldiers hanging onto the back. Bullets started raining down upon them and they all ducked as much as they could in the small space. "You might've spoken too soon, Caesar!" Toll shouted before he peeked up to shoot at the gunmen before ducking back down.

"I'll take care of 'em!" Caesar assured, sitting up to blast his canon of a gun at one of the cars. He shot a few rounds at the vehicle before it completely exploded when a bullet pierced the engine and the gas tank. The heavy weapons specialist let out a shot of triumph before it turned into a cry of pain as a bullet hit his left shoulder. He crumbled into the bed of the truck and held his bleeding arm in pain, dropping his gun.

"Caesar's hit!" Yin shouted before they all resumed fire on the last truck on their tails.

"Sky, take care of him!" Lee ordered.

Without hesitation she lowered her weapon and wormed her way over to the large man, examining his injured arm. There was an exit wound and thankfully it didn't seem that deep. And although it was bleeding quite a bit, it didn't look like it hit any major arteries or veins in his arm. She pulled off her jacket and bunched it up before pressing it on the bullet wound. Caesar let out a string of curses and shouts, before the sound of Caesar's gun cut through his words. Sky looked up and saw that Barney was holding said weapon and firing it into the last vehicle before that too went up in flames.

"You'd better not be man-handling my baby!" Caesar shouted, his pain momentarily forgotten.

"How's he doing?" Barney asked, ignoring the man's outburst completely.

"I was fucking shot!"

Sky rolled her eyes. "You've been much worse off and shot in much worse places. He'll be fine."

"You totally jinxed yourself, brother," Toll laughed, patting Caesar on his good shoulder.

"Shut up!"

Caesar continued to curse and complain even as they broke through the forest and towards the bank of the large river their plane was resting on. Barney and Lee had been the first ones to run into the plane to prep it for take-off. Yin handled escorting Diane and Elizabeth onto the plane while Gunnar and Toll carried Caesar. Sky brought off the rear, hopping off the truck and onto the ground, walking on her toes and watching her feet placement carefully before she hopped onto the plane. Gunnar shut the door behind her and then banged on the door to signal to Barney and Lee that everyone was in.

"Everyone sit down and strap in!" Lee shouted from the cockpit.

Diane and Elizabeth were already seated in the seats towards the back with Yin sitting close by them while Toll and Gunnar wrangled Caesar into a seat with the former looking for their medical kit to start patching the large man up. "Sky," Yin spoke up, catching her attention. She looked over and saw that the martial artist was pushing a pair of boots towards her. She smiled and went to take the seat next to him so she could slip on the shoes.

Only when the plane started moving did their two guests speak up.

"W-We're really going home?" Elizabeth asked with tears still in her eyes as she held hands with her mother.

Sky nodded and gave her a smile. "Yes, you are. It'll be about a couple hours of flying so you get some sleep."

"T-Thank you," Diane thanked, choking back a sob. "Thank you for saving us."

"Don't mention it. It's what we do."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_May 13__th, __2012_

The door to the garage opened before Toll road in on his motorcycle, gaining the attention of all the occupants of the room. Sky had been on the mats with Yin working through new moves while Lee made some comments and Gunnar and Barney were over by the desk drinking and talking through their latest mission. They stopped what they were doing and waited until Toll climbed off his bike and walked over so they could hear what he had to say. "Caesar's fine. He's just gotta make sure he doesn't pop his stitches which means he's gotta rest two weeks."

"How's he taking it?" Lee said with a smile on his face.

Toll rolled his eyes. "Man couldn't stop smiling saying he got two weeks off to spend with his family. Jenny came by and picked him up so he's back with his girls."

"That's good to hear," Barney said before he turned to his Goddaughter. "I've got to say, I'm impressed Sky. I didn't think your plan would quite as well as it did."

Sky laughed and gave a small shrug as Yin allowed her to take a break. "It's like I said, you boys need a little finesse." She gratefully accepted the water bottle that her father offered her before she frowned. "But I'm still convinced that we need a sniper."

"Sky, not that again," Lee muttered tossing a towel at his daughter upon hearing the start of the same argument she had started making months ago.

"No, I'm serious, we need a sniper!"

"We tried that already, didn't we?" Toll asked. "I mean we started training you to be our sniper, and Gunnar's already a sharpshooter."

Sky shook her head. "I'm not good as a sniper. Anything over seventy-five yards is iffy for me. And Gunnar's strong and has good hand-to-hand so we use him for most close combat situations too. We need a _designated_ sniper. Jake's team has one and apparently he's like their life saver on missions."

Gunnar laughed. "Just cause Jake's team has one doesn't mean we need one."

"Think about it, it would be a lot easier to have a sniper in our corner," she said, wiping her face with the towel her father had thrown at her.

Yin gave a small shrug. "What could it hurt?"

The group silenced all mulling over the thought. They stayed that way for a few seconds before Barney downed his beer and got to his feet. "What the hell, I'll let Tool know to be on the lookout for any snipers and send them our way."

* * *

_Fort Remington, North Carolina_

_May 13th, 2012_

Jensen wanted to sleep for days. He was positively exhausted. He and the Losers had just gotten back from a mission in Mexico handling a drug cartel. And because he'd asked Roque if he had become a prison bitch—because really how could he _not_ ask that after Roque had gotten captured, thrown into a small Mexican prison, and eyed by a man named Pablo—he nearly got his hand cut off. And when Clay prevented the knife-crazed man from cutting off his hand, Roque pulled rank and ordered him to run laps, do push-ups and sit-ups until he dropped, the _second_ they got back from the mission. He'd been at it for three hours before Clay felt pity and told him to stop. After showering and changing into sweats he was pretty much dead as he sprawled half-way onto the table in their common room.

"You look like shit," Pooch laughed from his spot opposite the hacker as he ate a bowl of oatmeal.

"Ugh," Jensen mumbled, not moving at all. The table was cold on his cheek and it felt amazing and he was _not_ moving anytime soon.

Roque looked entirely too satisfied on the couch as he polished his knives.

"You got a question you wanna ask me again?" Roque asked with a smirk as he rubbed his thumb lightly over the edge of the blade he was toying with.

"Nooooooo…"

"Good. Next time I'll gut you."

"Cougarrr," Jensen whined in a high-pitched voice childishly. The sniper didn't even look up from cleaning his rifle from his spot on the table just beside the hacker. "Cougarrrrrrrrrrrrr, Roque's being mean to me," Jensen whined again when the first attempt didn't work.

"No one told you to ask Roque if he was a prison bitch," Clay muttered from the other couch opposite Roque, rubbing his temples with his fingers, trying to drown out the sounds of whines and whimpers coming from their youngest member.

Jensen pouted before closing his eyes. "I bet Caesar would've laughed," he muttered into the table, though it was loud enough for the others to hear it.

"Who's Caesar?" Clay asked, his voice only showing a hint of interest.

"Hm?" Jensen mumbled before he processed the question. "Oh, he's family."

"Is he your uncle that flies?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow, remembering the conversation he'd had with the hacker over a year ago when they'd gone to New Orleans.

"No, that's Barney. Caesar uses big ass guns. You should see some of the ones he has. I mean it really shouldn't be called a gun, it's like a _canon_. And he names it and acts like it's a person, which is kinda weird, because who _does_ that with guns?"

Cougar was tempted to point out that Jensen called his laptop 'Denise' and talked to it quite often, but he kept the comment to himself.

"What does your family do?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow. "If your uncle flies and this Caesar guy handles weapons that means their military, right?"

"Former military, yeah," Jake replied. "And now they're totally badass—"

Abruptly the hacker cut himself off and his eyes opened, realizing what he was about to say. He couldn't let the guys know that his family consisted of mercenaries. Soldiers and mercenaries didn't really get along. There was a lot of bad blood because soldiers considered mercenaries soulless since they fought for whoever paid the highest and they didn't fight for their country. Besides, if others found out they were mercenaries and knew where they operated it might not take a while before word got around. Any enemies the Expendables had could potentially find them and take them out. And he was not going to let that happen to his family.

Clearing his throat, Jake said the first thing that came to his mind. "—old guys who work at my uncle's tattoo shop."

"The uncle that flies?" Clay asked.

"No, a different uncle."

"How many damn family members do you have?" Roque asked with a shake of his head, though he sounded slightly interested.

Jensen pouted slightly and started counting on his fingers.

A buzzing in his pocket threw him off and he groaned and pulled his cell phone out, seeing that he had a new text message. He unlocked his phone and saw that it was from Sky. Immediately he sat up despite the ache in his muscles and placed his glasses back on his face so he could see what she wrote.

**_Back from the job. Everything went well except Caesar slipped and hurt his shoulder. He's okay. Video-chat later? (6:34 PM)_**

Jensen texted back a quick text message saying he had time now before he jumped up from his seat, making an excuse about checking emails before he rushed back into his room and started turning on his laptop. He plopped himself on his bed and tapped his thigh impatiently before he signed onto his computer, plugging his headphones in. Without hesitation he opened up his chat window and saw that Sky was already on. He called her and it took just a few seconds before he could see her in the small window on his laptop, her hair wet and up in a bun and an Army t-shirt on.

"Hey Sky! Can you see me?"

_"Yeah I see you. You look tired. Everything okay?" _

"Eh, I just got in trouble for running my mouth."

_"So just a normal Tuesday?"_

"Hey!" Jake pouted before he remembered the text message. "So how's Caesar doing? What exactly happened?"

_"Not sure if I should talk about this over the computer." _

"Are you using the laptop I got you for your birthday?"

_"Yeah, why?"_

"Then you're good! I made that completely untraceable and un-hackable—except by me of course," he grinned, proud of his work. "It's pretty much a ghost laptop. I bet even the CIA would be jealous of my handiwork. Though, since some of my work is the base for CIA algorithms, it's only to be expected that they'd want my genius. But anyway, no worries about being listened to, speak your mind."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. _"In that case, the job went well. We got the mother and daughter out of Portugal and back State side early this morning and we got a nice paycheck for it. Six million dollars split seven ways is a little over eight hundred and fifty thousand for each of us."_

Jake let out a low whistle. "I'm in the wrong profession. What the hell are you going to do with all that money?"

_"Save it, mostly," _she shrugged, shifting her position so that she was sitting with her knees to her chest. _"I could use some new clothes since I grew out of some of them, but I was also thinking maybe I could buy a house." _

"What?" Jake asked in surprise. "You want to move out?"

_"Eventually I'm gonna have to. I turn twenty-one next month—"_

"And I'm going to be there so I can give you a proper celebration."

_"—and I know I can't live here forever. My room is starting to feel cramped. But mostly I was thinking about getting a place to make a sort of safe house."_

"You think you need one?" Jensen asked immediately in concern. "Did something happen? Are you—"

_"I'm good, Jake. I just like to be prepared. You never know when something like that could come in handy. I'm thinking of getting a couple properties around the states and maybe some overseas."_

"That's actually pretty smart," Jensen complimented. "If there's ever a mission that goes bad and you need a place to get to fast that could be an option. Do you have enough money to buy a bunch or properties here and overseas?"

Sky smirked. _"I've got a bit saved up."_

"That is so unfair," Jensen pouted dramatically. "I bet you're like rolling in dough right now for pulling one job every once in a while and I have to kill myself in order to survive on my salary."

_"Hey, remember I don't have the benefits you get. Whenever I'm hurt I gotta pay outta pocket. And not every job pays in the millions. But don't worry. Gunnar's been putting money into an account for you. Whenever you get out of the Army and decide to come back home, you've got a decent chunk of money waiting for you." _

"I love my dad."

Sky smiled slightly before a slightly amused expression formed on her face. _"So, I'm thinking about stealing your sniper." _

As if on cue, Cougar walked in carrying his cleaned rifle over to his side of the room, putting it in its case and putting away all his cleaning supplies. Jensen looked up and tried not to laugh at the perfect timing. "Oh really now? And why is that?" Jensen noticed Cougar look at him with a raised eyebrow before he gestured to his headphones and the computer, mouthing 'video-chat'. The sniper nodded and went about his business.

_"We're in the market for one," _Sky said with a sigh. _"It was my play that we ran with for the mission yesterday. And it worked almost perfectly, except that I made that plan with a sniper in mind. If we had had one, I'm sure Caesar wouldn't have gotten shot." _

"Is he okay?"

_"Yeah, he's good. He's back home with Jenny and the girls and he's milking it for all he's worth."_

Jensen laughed. That did sound like Caesar. "Why don't you fill the position?"

_"They tried training me to do it, but I suck. Anything over seventy-five yards is hit or miss, and for a sniper you can't be hit or miss. Besides, they can't afford to use me as a sniper since I'm the infiltration and recon specialist."_

"Since when?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow.

_"Since a couple months ago. Anyway, is there any way that I can persuade your sniper to come over to the dark side?" _

"That sounds dirty," Jensen said with a devious expression on his face. "I don't know how I feel about this sort of talk with Cougar in the room."

Cougar looked up, his curiosity peaked.

Sky's expression immediately switched from amused to horrified in seconds, her cheeks visibly coloring even through the screen. _"Oh my God, he is not in the room."_ Jensen just smirked. _"Oh God he **is** in the room. Please pretend this never happened."_

"Don't you want to introduce—"

_"Finish that sentence and I will personally make sure I never have any nieces or nephews from you." _

Jensen snapped his mouth shut.

_"Now, I'm gonna go eat. Dad ordered Chinese food. I'll call you later okay?" _

"Okay, bye!" Sky smiled before her window disappeared. Jensen smiled and went to unplug his headphones from his computer when he noticed Cougar looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "I was talking to Sky," he said as en explanation.

Cougar just nodded and went back to stowing his rifle. He probably didn't want to know anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_June 7__th, 2__012_

"You know, for _my_ twenty-first birthday, _you_ seemed to be the one to enjoy it the most," Sky said in amusement as she supported her brother as he swayed drunkenly out of the bar. It was finally her twenty-first birthday, and as promised her brother had flown out from Fort Remington in order to celebrate with her and the rest of the Expendables. They had treated her like a queen for the entire day, buying her food, giving her presents, and helping her with anything she needed. And as soon as night had fallen she'd been dragged—literally—out of the garage and towards Joel's Bar.

Her dad had told the guys to make sure that she didn't drink too much, but somewhere around the fourth round, no one really remembered that rule. The men had started some sort of drinking game, and her dad started throwing knives at the dart board with Tool, which was concerning in itself. Jensen kept the alcohol flowing and while he ordered it for Sky, most of it had gone to him. She didn't want to drink too much so she had settled for half a beer—handing the other half to her father—and a few cocktails. She sat at the bar and had watched the other men drop like flies as they moved from buzzed to wasted. The only people other than her that were still capable of rational thought were Yin and Barney.

And that was how she found herself in her current situation.

Jensen was completely out of it and she was given the task of taking him back to the garage before he did something stupid.

"Hey, you're having a lot of fun too," Jensen slurred, leaning against her heavily as he waved his arm dramatically as they stumbled down the street. And while he was acting ridiculous she couldn't deny the fact that she had a pretty nice buzz going on. "Ya should party with my team next time!"

"Are they as fun as you are when you drink?"

"Nahhhh," Jensen said with a goofy grin. "I'm the awesomest!"

"And you've got excellent grammar," Sky smiled, shifting her grip on her brother's waist. She couldn't help but laugh thinking about how Barney and Yin were doing wrangling Caesar, Gunnar, Tool, Toll and her dad.

"Skyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."

"Yes, Jake?"

"Ya should get a tattoo!"

Sky smiled slightly and maneuvered them both across the street before responding. "I thought you were the one that said girls couldn't get tattoos?"

"Me?" He asked pointing to himself. "Nahhhhhhh, you're badass!"

"Thanks."

"I'm sexy and I know it!"

Sky had to balance herself as he brother started dancing around on the street as he sang a very pitchy and off key rendition of his latest song of choice. Earlier it had been _Obsessed_. For one horrifying second it looked like he was going to start twerking in the middle of the street before he held his arms out wide as if he was trying to surf, bending his torso so it was parallel to the ground sticking his butt out in the air as if to gain some sort of balance. He swayed slightly on his feet as a pout pulled at his lips. "Who's shakin' the ground?"

"C'mon, let's get you home," she smiled, moving to reclaim her brother again and smiling apologetically to people that passed by. Thankfully they were just a block away from the garage.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too," Sky replied without hesitation.

"Nah, I really miss you," he slurred, leaning more heavily on her. His lips were now right by her forehead and he was stage whispering while his glasses threatened to fall off his face. "I never see you anymore," he whined before stumbling and nearly falling on his face. Thankfully Sky grabbed the back of his shirt and wrapped an arm around his torso to steady him before opening the door to Tool's shop and hauling her brother in. "R-Remember when we were _teeny tiny_? Ya _always_ followed me around! And ya _always_ listened to me and now I never see you! I kinda wished you still followed me. B-But now ya don't _need_ me anymore and—"

Sky heard what sounded suspiciously close to the beginning of tears and she helped her brother to the couch before she kneeled in front of him and held his hand in hers, making him face her. As she suspected his eyes were watery with unshed tears and he sniffled slightly, looking down at her. "Hey, listen to me. No matter where you are or how much time passes, you're my big brother. I'll _always_ need you. "

Before she could move or say anything Jensen flung himself onto her in a hug, wrapping his arm around her neck and sobbing as he tried to speak with minimal success. Sky blinked in surprise before holding her brother tightly in a hug, rubbing soothing circles around his back. She had no idea that her brother felt that way. He always had a smile on his face and he was always cracking jokes. She didn't realize that he was hurting because of this distance. She didn't realize he thought she didn't need him. She made a mental note to tell him how much she needed him and appreciated him again tomorrow since she was pretty sure that he wasn't going to remember anything when he woke up in the morning. But for now she continued rubbing circles on his back and listened to him sob and talk all at once.

"…and it's unfair! H-He _always_ gets girls! And I-I-I am _awkward_ and h-he's a _bad_ wingman! And—"

"Wait a second, can you repeat that last part?" Sky asked, freezing in her motions before pulling back so she could see her brother's face. His eyes were red and puffy and there were tear tracks down his face.

He sniffled pathetically before launching into an explanation. "Cougar! H-He's a bad wingman! I mean, he's my best friend and all that's male, because you're my best girl friend… that sounded funny. My best _female_ friend, and…" He frowned, obviously trying to remember what he was talking about, before a light went off in his head. "Oh, right Cougar. He's my best friend but he's bad at being a wingman cause _all _the girls go up to him! And I never get that! And Pooch doesn't help either cause he has Mrs. Pooch, and Clay is _always _drunk and Roque looks like he eats babies and—"

"Jake are you crying because Cougar's a bad wingman?"

"Yes!"

Sky couldn't help the amused smile that formed on her lips as things started to click into place. Now it suddenly made sense why her brother started blubbering about him not being able to see her. "Jake, are you an emotional drunk?"

"No! God, why do people always say that?" He scoffed indignantly. "Cougar says the same thing! He says I get emotional whenever I have some vodka!"

"Jake, you had seven shots of vodka."

"…I don't see your point."

"Go to sleep Jake."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana _

_September 12__th, __2012_

The smell of gunpowder created an odd sense of comfort for Barney. He had been in the killing game for more years than he cared to count, and over those years he'd become more comfortable holding a gun in his hands and shooting at a target than he was with dealing with his emotions. The Expendables had gotten back from a job only to receive word from Jensen's CO that the hacker had been shot on a mission. As expected, Gunnar flew into a panic and immediately hopped the first flight to Fort Remington, North Carolina to make sure his son was okay. Yin had gone with him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid and while Sky wanted to fly out, she too was injured on their job. It was only a small concussion she suffered, but still it was more than enough for Lee to keep her under his watchful eye.

Every one of them was worried and scared for the blonde boy they'd known for years and they were all taking out their frustration and emotions about not knowing in their own different ways. Toll was beating at the punching bag, Tool was painting something, Caesar was back home with Jenny and the girls, and Lee was staying at Lacy's house with Sky, watching over both of them. Barney, however, had found solace at the shooting range.

The Italian emptied another magazine into his paper target, hitting it in a spread out cluster in the center circle.

Loud gunshots to his side surprised him. He had been the only one in the range. He looked over towards the other lane that was in use and was surprised to see that the bullets were kept in a tight neat circle in the center.

"Nice shot," he called out as he brought his paper target forward.

There was a pause before he got a response. "Thanks. You too."

Curious as to whom he was talking to, Barney walked out of his stall and down three to his left before spotting a young man, holding a military style handgun. The man looked at him with a smile and Barney returned the gesture before motioning to the gun. "You Army?"

"Former," he replied with a shrug, though one glance in his eyes told Barney that there was a story to the kids retirement.

"What'd you do?" Barney asked curiously, leaning against the wall.

"Sniper."

Barney's eyebrows shot up. "You were a sniper?"

"Yes sir," the young man replied with a smile. "I was pretty good too."

The gears in Barney's mind were turning. There was a young kid standing in front of him that was out of the Army _and_ a sniper to boot. This was exactly what Sky had wanted. "You looking for a job?"

The young man blinked. "Yeah, actually I am. Why?"

Barney smiled mysteriously. "What's your name kid?"

"William Timmons. You can call me Billy."

* * *

_Fort Remington, North Carolina_

_September 12__th, __2012_

Clay couldn't help but stare openly at the scene occurring through the hospital room window, and based upon the fact the rest of his unit were still behind him staring through the window, he was sure they were just as surprised as he was. They had all been worried when Jensen had been shot in the leg during a mission in Guam. They had rushed him back to the States to get patched up and upon Jensen's request—because apparently his dad would kill him if he found out what happened after the fact—he had contacted Gunnar Jensen to let him know that his son had been shot. He expected Jensen's dad to be worried and fly down to make sure his son was alright.

He _hadn't _expected the hulking giant of a man seated in the chair beside his tech's bed.

"That man is _huge_," Pooch muttered as he stared through the glass. _"__That's _Jensen's dad?"

"It appears so," Clay replied, still not prying his eyes away.

_"__Se parecen,"_ Cougar piped up, noting the family resemblance.

"The man has a lot of scars," Roque pointed out. "Think he's military?"

"Why don't you ask?"

Clay, Roque and Pooch all jumped and whirled around while Cougar merely raised an eyebrow and turned to the man he'd heard approach them from behind. The small Asian that was standing behind them was looking at them all with an appraising look, sizing them up as his gaze flickered to each one of them. Cougar examined him with the same appraising look and immediately saw how dangerous the small man could be. He may not look like much—skinny and shorter than Cougar—but the look in his eyes made it apparent that he was much more than he seemed.

"Who are you?" Roque demanded, his fingers itching to go for one of his knives.

The man's eyes cut to Roque's twitching fingers and leveled a look his way showing that he knew what it was he planned to do. Without answering, he walked past them all and into the hospital room, immediately to be met with a 'Yin Yang!' by Jensen.

"Just how many people does Jensen know?" Pooch asked shaking his head.

Clay just shrugged before he led his team inside to visit their tech, only to be immediately greeted enthusiastically by Jensen. "Hey guys, you're just in time! Come meet my dad and Yin! Dad this is Lt. Colonel Clay, Captain Roque, Sergeant Alvarez—but we just call him Cougar—and Sergeant Pooch!"

"Gunnar Jensen," the blonde man said, standing up to his full height. The man easily had a couple inches on Clay and was even taller than Roque who was the tallest of their team at six-three. He extended his hand and Clay reached forward to shake it, trying not to wince at the force of which his hand was being squeezed and trying to show the same strength. Gunnar smirked at him in a way that said he'd just passed some sort of test before he let go and shook the hands of the rest of his team. "This is Yin Yang. You can call him Happy Feet."

"Gunnar," Yin hissed out in a warning tone.

The blonde giant just smirked again before sitting down. "Yin's my sister's martial arts instructor. He's a totally ninja!"

Yin rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of Baby-Face, she wanted me to let you know that she wanted to show up but couldn't make it."

Immediately Jensen's face went from happy to concern. "Why? Did something—"

"Slight concussion," Yin answered easily. "She's fine."

Jensen looked visibly relieved.

"So, what is it that you gentlemen do?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow.

At the matching smirks that Gunnar, Yin, _and_ Jensen wore on their faces, Clay immediately became suspicious.

"Entrepreneurs."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_September 19__th, __2012_

After agreeing to join the Expendables and talking things over with Barney, Billy was pretty sure that he was prepared for what that meant. He was a soldier, a damn good one, so he knew the demands of war. And as a mercenary you only took certain jobs, in and out. But as he walked down the street, with 'Tool's' in sight he started to have some second thoughts. He was about to meet a team of mercenaries. What should he expect? Would he mesh well with them? How was he supposed to act around them? Would it be like the Army or more like those mercenary movies he'd seen growing up?

Stopping in front of the door to the tattoo shop, Billy steeled himself for whatever awaited him before pushing it open.

He was immediately hit with the sound of laughter. He scanned the space and saw that there were only two people in the shop currently, a tall blonde man with a scar of his face and blue eyes and a brunette girl with curly hair that reached a little past her shoulder blades, facing away from him and towards the blonde sitting in a tattoo chair. Almost immediately the blonde stood up from the chair to look his way and the young woman turned to look at him over her shoulder. Billy stopped in his tracks and stared at her for a second. She was beautiful. She blinked in surprise and turned completely towards him before letting a smile fall onto her lips. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah," Billy said giving his own smile and clearing his throat. "My name's Billy Timmons. I'm looking for Barney Ross?"

"Why you looking for Barney?" The blonde man asked in a rough voice.

"He asked me to meet him here."

The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and shared a look with the giant behind her before looking back towards Billy with a confused smile on her face. "Can you tell me why he asked you to meet him?"

Billy tensed slightly before tossing the girl an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I really can't." The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, looking as if she were about to say something when a shout cut her off.

"Sky, Gunnar, leave the kid alone," Barney shouted walking in from side entrance. He smiled in Billy's direction before looking towards the two other occupants in the room. "He's our new sniper."

Billy noticed the girl's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and her eyes flickered to him. She looked him over, her lips curving up in the corner before she looked back to Barney. "Seriously? You actually found a sniper?"

"You asked for one and I delivered," Barney laughed, gesturing for Billy to walk forward. The twenty-four year old walked forward in confusion so he was standing beside the large Italian. What did he mean that she asked for a sniper? He didn't have time to think on it because Barney was gesturing to him as if he was showing off a prize on a game show. "Does he meet your expectations?"

Sky smiled mysteriously and met eyes with Billy, causing the blue-eyed sniper to smile slightly. "We'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 2__nd__, 2012_

Sky was starting to get restless. The boys had all gone out on a mission, leaving only her and Billy. Apparently it had been a quick and easy mission that didn't require an infiltrator or a sniper, so the two of them had been benched. She didn't like getting benched and she didn't like the fact that they'd been gone for two days and hadn't called in to check on them. She felt her anxiousness start to build until she couldn't sit around anymore. She quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top and slipped on her sneakers before she walked down stairs, heading for the garage. She said a quick hello to Tool who was working on a tattoo before she crossed into the garage, immediately tensing when she heard a creaking chain and someone's heavy breathing. She slowed down and walked cautiously into the room before she saw their resident sniper working at the punching bag that Toll normally claimed.

The past two weeks, Billy had proven his worth to the team. After she'd first seen him that day in Tool's shop they had run test after test, trying to see how good the blue-eyed boy was. They'd taken him out to the hanger to practice with his rifle and he'd shown off his skills. He was just as good as Gunnar was, except that he could maintain his position for much longer, keeping his muscles tensed for hours on end to watch out for their asses. And then he'd gone against Toll in hand-to-hand. He'd been demolished by the MMA enthusiast but he had put up a decent fight. All in all, he was a pretty good sniper, he wasn't that bad in a fight, he got along with the other well, and he was a pretty cool guy.

And Sky couldn't help but notice how attractive he was.

He was standing in front of her, oblivious to her presence, pounding away at the heavy bag. His shirt was off and discarded on a nearby chair as his muscles rippled with each punch. His breathing came out in short bursts, in time with his fists hitting the bag and Sky vaguely realized that she would look creepy just standing their staring. Just as she was about to announce her presence, Billy shifted his stance and noticed the brunette girl. He abruptly stopped and started trying to catch his breath, giving her a smile. "Hey,"

"Hey," she said back with her own smile, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked with a playful glance as he stopped the swinging of the bag.

"Not long," she answered quickly, walking further so she was on the mats, trying to ignore the chuckle Billy let out and the smirk he was sending her way. "What are you doing down here?"

"I can ask you the same thing," he said with a smile, walking over to the desk to grab a towel and hang it around his neck.

"I asked you first, kid," she said with a smirk, knowing how much it bugged him when she called him 'kid' like the others did.

Billy sent a mock glare her way. "You know I'm older than you by a year."

Sky shrugged and walked forward so she was in front of the bag, taking a stance in front of it while Billy moved around to hold the bag. "Yeah, but I've got more experience," she said as she started punching at the bag.

"Oh, really?"

Sky faltered slightly at the suggestive tone that Billy adopted. She looked up at him with a narrowed stare and hoped her cheeks weren't as red as they felt before she continued punching at the bag again, using a bit more force than really necessary. She didn't rise to his bait and she didn't respond. She continued punching and it only took a few seconds of silence before Billy started talking again.

"I'm feeling anxious," he admitted with a sigh. "I don't like that we didn't get to be involved in this mission and they should've called by now. It shouldn't take this long."

"So you came down here to work off some energy?" She guessed. When he nodded, she smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, me too. I never like waiting here while they're off somewhere. And it doesn't really get easier. You just have to learn to cope."

"Does punching at a bag help?" He asked with a smile.

"Not really. It just gives me a workout. Doesn't really engage my mind enough to not think about the others," she admitted even as she continued punching away at the bag.

"How about punching at a moving target?" Billy asked, moving away from the bag and tossing his towel onto the desk. Sky paused and watched as he moved over towards the mats and started bouncing around on his toes, smiling towards her. "What do you say?"

Sky fought back a laugh. She had almost forgotten that Billy had never seen her fight before. And he also had no idea that she was trained by her father and Yin. "You wanna fight me?"

"I promise I'll go easy on you."

"Alright… remember, you asked for this," she smirked, stepping onto the mat. He smirked back, almost as if he was confident he would win. He'd be in for a surprise. She pulled off her sneakers and socks and put them onto the corner of the mat so she didn't have to worry about leaving a mark whenever she kicked him, and Billy already had his shoes off so he didn't need to waste time taking his off. She took position across from him and soon they started circling. She watched as he shifted his leg slightly, trying to trick her into thinking he was going for a kick. She backed away and started circling again, slowly coming into range. She saw his left arm tense and she smirked before ducking underneath the punch, stepping closer into his range in order to deliver a right hook, left hook and an elbow to his chest, sending him off balance and stumbling backwards. Knowing she had an opening she moved forward and swept his feet out from under him before grabbing his arm with one hand and aiming a punch an inch away from his face with her other the second he landed on his back.

"Shit," he blinked in surprise before looking up at the smirking brunette. "You really are experienced aren't you?"

"I was trained by my dad and Yin," she said, feeling entirely too pleased with herself.

"So I'm in a little over my head aren't I?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

A devious smirk crossed Billy's face and before she knew it, Sky was being rolled over so she was flat on her back with her hands pinned on the mat and Billy's body hovering over hers. She squeaked in surprise before glaring up at the smug blue-eyed boy above her, his face just inches away from her. "You know I could break out of this if I wanted."

"If you wanted?" Billy repeated, licking his lips.

Sky's heart started pounding in her chest, looking away from Billy's eyes and down to his lips. She licked her own lips before lifting her gaze up to his eyes, noticing that he was now looking at her lips. He leaned in slowly, their breath mingling before he pressed his lips onto hers. She felt a wave of excitement shoot through her as his lips moved against her, letting her eyes close. The last boyfriend she'd had was Alec—a memory she did _not_ want to relieve—and she'd almost forgotten how nice it was to have someone kiss her like Billy was. She smiled against his lips before she felt his tongue run over her bottom lip.

"Ahem."

Billy shot up, letting go of Sky and jumping to his feet while Sky scrambled up just behind him, trying no tame her flaming red cheeks. The two turned to the door and saw a smirking Tool standing there with his arms crossed. "Am I interrupting something?"

"We were just sparring," Sky said quickly while Billy cleared his throat and tried to covertly wipe at his mouth.

"Sparring… so is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?"

Sky's cheeks darkened while Billy's turned bright pink.

"Anyway, I came in here to let you guys know that Barney just called. The job is done and taken care of, but there was a mechanical issue with the plane that needed to be taken care of. Jenny's working all day today and Caesar wanted to know if you can go watch Haley and Celia and take them to their soccer game today, Sky."

"Yeah, of course," Sky immediately answered, moving to grab her sneakers and socks before heading towards the door. "I'll just… uh… get dressed in the soccer shirt."

Tool smirked at her. "You go do that."

Completely mortified, Sky ran out of the garage and up to her room. The second the door was closed she smiled and bit her lip. She had just kissed Billy.

After showering and getting dressed in a simple pair of jeans and bright pink 'Go Petunias' shirt, she slipped on her boots and grabbed her bag before walking out of her room. She jogged down the stairs before pausing when she saw Billy waiting at the end of the stairs, dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a dark blue t-shirt. He looked up after hearing her footsteps and grinned sheepishly. "Tool suggested I go with you."

Sky immediately blushed and shook her head before jogging down the rest of the stairs, toying with the keys in her hands. "Alright, c'mon, Haley and Celia's game starts at three so we have just an hour to make sure their ready to go," she spoke up, walking past him and out the tattoo shop—pointedly ignoring Tool's chuckling. She unlocked the car door so Billy could hop into the passenger seat before she climbed in and tossed her bag into the back seat turning it on. It was utterly silent as Sky drove to Caesar's house and it was slowly starting to get to the brunette girl.

"So…" Billy started, surprising her. He looked her way with a smirk. "I like sparring. We should do it again some time."

Sky let out a laugh and shook her head at the man sitting beside her. "I won't take it easy on you next time."

"Sounds fun."

Sky tossed him a look before she pulled up in front of Caesar's house, spotting Jenny and the girls waiting on the porch. Jenny was absolutely beautiful, with cocoa colored skin, short straight black hair and big green eyes. And her daughters were the spitting image of her. Haley had short hair just like her mother and her father's smile, dressed in her pink jersey with the number '21', and Celia had longer hair that reached her shoulder blades and her father's eyes, wearing the number '22'. The six year olds ran down the steps and towards the car, plowing into Sky just as she got out of the vehicle.

"Aunt Sky! Aunt Sky!" They cheered, hugging her. "We missed you!"

"Hey girlies, I missed you both too!" Sky smiled, crouching down to kiss each girl on the cheek. "You girls ready to kick some butt on the soccer field?"

"Yeah!" They cheered in unison, Haley pumping her fist in the air while Celia just jumped up and down.

Jenny walked over to the three girls and smiled gratefully to the young woman. "Thanks so much for taking them Sky. Hale was supposed to be back by today to take care of them, but of course that ancient plane of theirs is acting up," she said, embracing the girl in a hug. "I should be done by seven tonight."

"Don't worry, they're in good hands," she assured.

Jenny looked about ready to say something before she looked past the brunette girl and over the top of the car, zeroing in on something. Sky had a feeling she knew what Jenny was looking at but turned anyway to see Billy standing by the passenger door, leaning his forearms on the top of the car. He noticed that he had the attention of both women—and the two little girls that were now staring at him and giggling—before he waved slightly. "Ma'am."

Jenny nodded and smiled before looking at Sky with a shit-eating grin. "I see why you like being a part of the Expendables so much."

"Aunt Sky! Aunt Sky! Is that your boyfriend?" Celia asked, with innocent brown eyes.

Haley looked mischievous as she looked up to her aunt. "Do you and him kiss?"

"And on that note, it's time to go," Sky announced with a blush starting to appear on her face. She ignored the protests by the small girls and ushered them into the back seat of her car, wishing the ground could open up and swallow her whole. Once she made sure both girls were in and buckled up, she looked back to Jenny and gave her an embarrassed look. "I'll get the girls some pizza afterwards."

"Thanks Sky, you're a life saver!"

"It's what I do."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_November 26__th, __2012_

Jensen was downright pouting in his corner of the garage as he sipped at his beer. Arguably it was supposed to be a happy time. He was back at home with his family for Thanksgiving and everyone was having a great time. But as he watched his sister with her boyfriend across the room, laughing and talking, he couldn't help but feel conflicted.

"Kid, what's got you so down?" Gunnar asked, walking over from where he'd been sitting with Yin and Toll so he could plop down in front of his son. "You look like someone stole your favorite toy."

"I don't like him," Jensen answered without hesitation, glaring out towards Billy who was apparently telling some story to Barney, Toll, and Yin. Sky had just gone off to go help Lacy, Jenny and Caesar bring in the food for the meal while Lee and Tool kept Haley and Celia entertained by having a knife throwing contest.

Gunnar laughed and rolled his eyes. "Neither does Lee. But that's because he doesn't think anyone's good enough for Baby-Face. But he's a good guy."

"I still don't like him," Jensen repeated stubbornly.

"You gotta have a reason," the older blonde said, sipping at his beer. "I know you kid, you don't hate people for no reason. So give it up, why don't you like him?"

Jensen shifted slightly in his seat, trying to phrase himself properly. His dad was going to think he was stupid if he said _why_ he didn't like Billy and why Sky shouldn't be with Billy. Hell, anyone else other than him would think he was stupid for his reason. After a few seconds of debating with himself, he exhaled dramatically, deciding to just come out with it, before looking up at his father as if his puppy had just been shot. "Sky's supposed to be with Cougar!"

"…you lost me there."

"Sky is _supposed_ to be with Cougar! I mean, it would've been perfect! He's Spanish, she's part Spanish, he's a badass, she's a badass, he's my best friend and she's my sister!"

Gunnar blinked before trying to fight off a smile. "So… you're saying that you actually _want_ your best friend to date your sister?" At Jensen's enthusiastic nod, Gunnar couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Jake, do you know how backwards you sound? Most guys would hate for their best friend to date their sister."

"Yeah, but _I_ see the big picture," Jensen assured, leaning forward as if he was about to lay out an entire master plan. And knowing his son, Gunnar was sure that he was about to. "Think about it, if Cougar dated Sky and they fell in love and got married and all that Hallmark stuff, I'd have my best friend as my brother-in-law! There's no awkward time period of trying to break in a new guy, since I already _know_ Cougar. He knows what I'm like, so I don't have to filter myself or worry he'll judge me! And then I'd get to see my best friend _and_ Sky in one visit so it's convenient! With gas prices going up and everything, this could be critical. And I know they wouldn't break up because I totally did one of those internet compatibility match thingies and they were pretty damn compatible. It's like Brangelina type compatibility we're talking here."

Gunnar muffled his laughs by taking a large gulp of his beer. "Go on," he said once he had composed himself.

Jensen needed no further prompting. "Okay, now also, since Cougar's my best friend he takes my side like eighty-five percent of the time, but if he was dating Sky, he'd _have_ to take my side like ninety-seven percent of the time and the other three percent is when it's an argument between me and Sky. And because I _know _what Cougar's capable of I don't have to worry about Sky ever because he's a badass and he'd never let anything—"

"Hold on right there," Gunnar interrupted getting serious. Jensen stopped and blinked looking at him as his father leaned in so that they were speaking in low tones. "Is that what this is all about? You want Sky to be with your friend because you _know_ he can take care of her and you don't know anything about Billy?"

"Well… yeah…"

Gunnar smiled and rested a hand on his son's shoulder, patting him a couple times. "Jake, that's how we all feel right now. We want to make sure that she's taken care of no matter who she's with, but you gotta remember that she can take care of herself too. 'Damsel in distress' just ain't who she is. So even if you don't like him or trust him, trust _her_. She's smart and she can make her own decisions. If something ain't right with Billy she'll be the first one to cut ties and move on, you know that."

Jensen pursed his lips slightly, letting that bit of information sink in before he exhaled loudly and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. She is pretty cutthroat with people if she's pushed, isn't she?"

"There's a reason her codename is 'Baby-Face Assassin'."

"You two talking about me?"

The Jensens looked up to see Sky standing right by their table with a smile on her face and a raised eyebrow. "Nothing but the good stuff, Baby-Face," Gunnar smiled and stood up, kissing her forehead before walking towards the others.

Sky frowned after the man before looking towards her brother. "You gonna explain what that was about?"

"You probably don't want to know," Jensen admitted, standing up and tossing an arm around his sister's neck.

"You're probably right. C'mon, dinner's ready and Haley and Celia are challenging us to a soccer game after we're all done eating."

Jensen beamed. "We gotta get our game faces on."

"Yeah, cause we're going to get our asses kicked by six year olds."

"Go Petunias."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans_

_January 5__th__, 2013_

The hangar was positively filled with activity as the Expendables began loading up their supplies onto their plane for their latest mission. While Caesar and Toll loaded most of the weapons and ammunition, and Lee did the flight check, Barney, Gunnar, Yin, Billy and Sky were all standing around the table with Tool as they were going over the plans one last time. Sky was in the middle of putting her hair into two braids on either side of her head and was decked out in her black t-shirt, black cargo pants, combat boots, fingerless black gloves and Kevlar. "So… not that I'm upset about being included, but why am I tagging along on this job again? You normally bench me whenever we don't need an infiltrator."

"Yeah, but we need another gun," Barney answered easily, tossing her a smile. "And you just happen to be good with one. You'll be with Gunnar and Yin for this mission."

"Stick close with us, Baby-Face," Gunnar smiled, walking over and placing a black ski hat over her hair like the one he wore on missions.

"We'll keep you safe," Yin assured as she adjusted the hat she'd been given by the blonde giant behind her.

"Gear's on!" Caesar shouted before walking back into the plane.

"You kids ready?" Tool asked with a grin on his face.

"Yes sir," Billy replied immediately.

Barney rolled up the plans on the table and nodded towards their liaison. "We should be gone about half a week. Nothing too long."

"Alright then, good luck."

With that the mercenaries all started onto the plane, getting whatever personal gear they had and mentally preparing for the task ahead. They boarded quickly and settled down while Barney went into the cockpit to help Lee during take-off. Sky wasted no time in claiming her seat in between Billy and Gunnar, her hands firmly in both mans' as she bit her lip and bounced her knee. "You _still _don't like flying?" Billy asked in a teasing tone.

"Not flying, just heights."

"Flying consists of being at high altitudes."

"Shut up."

"It's alright Baby-Face, we've all got something we're scared of," Gunnar assured.

Toll nodded. "I hate mice."

"Mice? Really? Why mice?" Caesar asked in amusement.

"Mice are fucking creepy!"

The plane started taking off and Sky squeezed tighter at their hands. Billy laughed and kissed her cheek to comfort her, while Gunnar shifted in his seat so she could lean on his shoulder. "Take a nap Baby-Face. We got a few hours until we land."

Without needing to be told twice, she leaned into her modern day Viking and closed her eyes, eager to take a nap and be done with the flight.

* * *

_Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal_

_January 6th, 2013_

Banging and loud voices snapped Sky out of her sleep. She looked around—internally cursing that she slept in her contacts—and blinked a few times before realizing that sometime during the flight her dad had made his way to the back of the plane and he was who she was currently using as a pillow. And that the noises were coming from outside the plane, signifying the fact that they were—thankfully—now on the ground. She shifted in her father's lap only to feel his hand on her shoulder.

"You slept well," he said. She could hear the smile in his voice before she sat herself up and looked at him.

"How long was I out?"

"The entire flight," Lee answered with a smile and a shrug. "Gunnar let you use him as a pillow for the first two hours before I relieved him of his duty."

"How thoughtful of you," Sky said in between a yawn as she stretched her arms over her shoulders. "Do you have my eye drops? My contacts dried out."

Without hesitation, Lee pulled out a small bottle of Visine from his pocket and handed it to his daughter, earning a grateful smile. She quickly used the eye drops to moisten her contacts again before she wiped at the water going down her face. "What're we doing right now?"

"We're getting our toys out," Lee grinned, standing up before pulling his daughter up to her feet. She snuck her eye drops back into his pockets before she grabbed her gear and allowed her father to lead her out of the plane. They were on the river, so Sky had to watch her step as she stepped onto the dock and started walking towards the others. In front of them, Caesar and Toll were getting situated in an armored Humvee with 'BAD ATTITUDE' spray painted on the side just by Toll in the driver seat. Yin was climbing into the turret of the second vehicle while Gunnar sat on the hood of the other one, toying around with his bowie knife. The third vehicle was noticeably missing and Sky looked around in confusion, wondering where it was. And where their final two teammates were.

"Where are Billy and Barney?"

"Barney went to drop the kid off so he's in position. He'll be back soon," Lee explained before gesturing to the vehicle that Yin was currently in. "You're going to be in the back with Yin. Stay down behind the armor plating and shoot out of the groves or Gunnar's window if you need to. Get down if it gets too bad and you cover up whenever Gunnar starts crashing through the buildings. Got it?"

"Got it," Sky assured, opening up her duffel bag to grab her automatic rifle, her Berretta, her knives, her brass knuckles and the extra magazines she carried. She started strapping her weapons and ammo to her thighs, chest, waist, and around her torso before she stuck an extra couple knives in her boots.

"Barney and I will be up in front of you clearing the way, and Caesar and Toll will cover your back," Lee explained as the roaring of an engine caught their attention. They turned and saw Barney driving through the row of trees in front of them, stopping just a few feet away from the second vehicle.

"Alright, let's get ready to move out!"

"Keep communications up until breach!" Lee shouted, placing his earpiece into his ear before he ran over to his and Barney's vehicle. Sky put her earpiece in and quickly ran over to her vehicle, accepting the hand that Yin offered her to hop into the back before her mentor slammed the large metal armor down to cage them in. Sky kept in a low crouch, looking around the small space, seeing the lower portion of Yin's legs and Gunnar's seat in front of her and to her right. She could vaguely see through the holes of the armor and she saw her 'oh shit' handle as Caesar liked to call it. It was really just a leather strap screwed into the metal flooring that she could loop her hand in and grab onto if she was about to be thrown around.

"You ready for this, Baby-Face?" Gunnar asked as he climbed into his seat and placed his gun just beside him on the left side of the floor. He grinned her way and tossed her a pair of goggles before sitting properly, starting the Humvee and slowly driving forward so they were following behind Barney.

_"__Everyone good?"_ Toll asked through the comms.

_"__We're good," _Lee spoke up.

_"__All is fine on my end," _Billy's whispered voice said over the comms.

"And we're all set here," Sky added on, smiling up at Yin who grinned back, and clasping a hand on Gunnar's shoulder—which earned her a fist-bump—before she settled down behind him. She put her goggles on and tried to relax her shoulders. "Operation rescue the damsel is a go."

They drove on for a few minutes in silence—during which time Sky checked over all her weapons and made sure her M16 was ready to fire—before she felt the pace start to pick up and she automatically reached for her 'oh shit' handle. She started peeking outside the holes in the armor and exhaled slightly when she saw that they entered the small village and heard people shouting. "Baby-Face, my gun!"

Sky wasted no time in handing Gunnar his weapon so he was holding his gun in his right hand and the steering wheel in his left hand. She quickly swapped out her ear piece for the ear plugs that they had all been given before the start of the mission. Only seconds later did she see Barney's vehicle spin around so it was going in reverse, dropping their metal plating so they could take out all the road blocks, and immediately her dad started firing away with the turret. Yin started up a second later and Sky was internally grateful that she had on ear plugs to block out most of the loud shots from the weapon. Ignoring the sounds going around her, she stuck the barrel of her weapon out of the holes in the amor and started firing at all the enemy soldiers she could see. She paused in her firing to see where they were going before she heard a loud explosion behind them and realized that Caesar was having fun shooting grenades at the rooftop soldiers.

Gunnar gave a battle cry before firing out the window at the enemies, while Sky moved in so she was beside him, aiming out the same window and firing. They mowed down a good portion of the soldiers in front of them before Yin ducked down into the armored space beside her, just as they crashed into something, jostling Sky around. She grabbed onto the leather strap and held on tightly before she looked forward and saw that they just ran into a maze of wooden poles. Yin popped back out after making sure she was okay and continued firing, and Sky followed his lead soon after.

She heard bullets ricocheting and looked forward to see soldiers firing at her father's vehicle. She noticed that Gunnar seemed to have no interest in pulling up their cover so she leaned over him and grabbed the strap to the metal covering and lifted it into place to defend the blonde just as bullets started hitting it. She heard an explosion just to her right and immediately let go of the metal plate when she felt how hot it became, letting it drop down so they could see that her father had blown up a gas station, taking the soldiers out. Gunnar let out a whoop before he pushed their metal battering ram down and into place. "Duck and cover, Baby-Face!" Without having to be told twice, Sky dropped down onto her stomach and covered her head with one arm and held onto her 'oh shit' handle with the other, holding on for dear life.

"Watch your head, insect!" Gunnar shouted up to Yin.

"Shut up, Gunnar!" The martial artist shouted back before he heeded the man's warning and dropped down beside Sky, placing his body over hers as they crashed into a cement wall, plowing through the structures and continuing through the entire building. Some cement chunks fell through the opening of the turret and dust filled the area, but the armor was doing its job of protecting them. She heard Gunnar give a sadistic little laugh before they crashed into a metal pole and spun around in a version of parallel parking.

"Bail!" Gunnar shouted even as he kicked his door open and hopped out. Yin helped Sky up before she scrambled out the open doorway, followed by her mentor. Caesar and Toll appeared from just behind them, all brandishing weapons before they followed behind Gunnar who led the charge up a set of stairs in the far end of the room that thankfully hadn't been demolished. She pulled out her ear plugs and quickly put in her comms when she noticed the other boys doing so as they snuck up the stairs, only ducking once when Gunnar fired at soldiers in the hall. They quickly rushed in, Sky sticking to Yin like glue as he took up position just in the doorway to the kitchen, while Gunnar, Toll and Caesar squeezed in behind a cart in the hall.

Sky heard shouts and footfalls heading their way before Yin peeked around the corner and started firing at the enemy soldiers. She heard a _click_ and a curse before she quickly moved out and started firing at the remaining two soldiers, hitting them both in the heart before stepping back so she was in line with Yin. Her mentor gave her an approving smile as he switched out his magazines and she grinned up at him, mirroring his actions. "Hallway's clear," Yin announced before aiming back out in the hallway to take on anyone that entered the hall next.

"Happy Feet, Baby-Face, move forward!" Gunnar announced. The two nodded before Yin walked out of the doorway and further down the hall with Sky right on his heels. A flash of movement caught Sky's attention before two soldiers shot out of the hall just adjacent to theirs and tackled Yin over a counter and into the kitchen. She shouted for him, prepared to jump in and help before two more men brandishing knives entered the hall and came after her.

"Shit," she muttered to herself as she shot the first man in the head and heart before the second man cut at her hand. She backed away so it just nicked her, cutting through her gloves, but she dropped her weapon. She felt her breathing quicken and she was vaguely aware of Toll shouting to her before she ducked underneath a slash from the man's knife. Quickly she used her left arm to grab the hand holding onto the knife, gripping it tightly before she used her right hand to grab at a knife from the pouch on her hip, stepping forward and driving the knife into his heart repeatedly before kicking him away. She ducked down to grab her weapon before she saw more men enter the hall, half going towards the kitchen to attack Yin, while the other half looked her way.

"Sky, stay down!"

Sky sprawled out on her stomach, just as Caesar's loud ass gun started firing away, mowing down the men who had been advancing towards her. They dropped within seconds and she looked up in relief before grabbing her weapon and standing back up with Toll moving up to flank her, acting as her defense since Yin was still dealing with the men inside the kitchen. She heard what sounded like pots banging around before she and Toll moved forward only to see a room full of bodies with Yin standing tall before tossing a pot to the ground.

"Yin, you good?" Toll shouted out, scanning the area even as Yin ran over to them.

"I'm fine," Yin assured. Immediately the three took off down the hallway to the designated meeting point. "Where are Gunnar and Caesar?" Yin shouted when they arrived in front of the room and noticed they were the only three there.

"They went around the other way to make sure everything's all clear," Toll assured. Not too seconds later did Gunnar and Caesar appear around the corner just as Barney and Lee came barreling down the other hall. "Everyone alright?" Lee asked immediately, running over and stopping by Sky to examine her. He noticed the cut in her gloves and the small amount of blood before he frowned. "What happened?"

"Some guy picked a fight. I won."

"Caesar, you got the grenade launcher?" Barney asked.

Caesar gave a large and slightly psychotic smile as he lifted up said weapon. Immediately Sky was grabbed by her father and tossed over to Gunnar. She was about to complain about being tossed around like a rag doll before she saw that Caesar was about to fire his weapon in the relatively small hallway. Suddenly she wasn't so upset about it. Yin followed close behind Gunnar and hid with them in the other hall just as Caesar shot off a round and demolished the door in a blaze of fire. Sky was eighty-seven percent sure that she heard Caesar laughing a little too maniacally, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt and attributed it to the explosion making her hear things.

When she was finally released and she moved out with Gunnar and Yin, they were all moving into the room, bodies of soldiers lying dead on the ground from either a knife to the neck or bullet to the heart. Sitting in the middle of the room, tipped over and on the ground was a man with a bag over his head.

"Toll Road, get him up," Barney ordered. The MMA enthusiast did so without hesitation before pulling the sack off of the man's head. They all tensed seeing the man underneath before Barney raised an eyebrow. "Trench?"

"Wait a second, _Trench_ is the damsel?" Sky asked, trying desperately to hide her amusement but ultimately failing.

Trench looked over in her direction and hung his head down, humiliated at the fact that he'd just been saved by the Expendables and a little girl he'd seen since she was a child. "This is embarrassing."

"Sure it is," Barney muttered.

"What are you doing here?" Lee demanded.

Trench gestured with his chin over to the Chinese man handcuffed to a bed just a few feet away, cowering in fear. "Saving that Chinese billionaire."

"Really? So are we."

"Well then we have a scheduling problem, don't we?" Trench retorted before looking over his shoulder to the giant blonde leaning against the wall a few feet away. "Cut me loose Crankenstein."

Gunnar's jaw set.

"Don't get nuts, Gunnar," Barney said, already noticing the dangerous look in the man's eyes. "Cut him loose." Gunnar didn't look pleased in the slightest but did as he was told. "Where's your team?"

"Waiting," Trench answered easily. "I need a weapon, something big," he muttered, looking around the room. His eyes landed on Caesar's gun—his pride and joy—and started advancing towards him. "Yours."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Caesar said, getting a firmer grip on his weapon. "My big weapon is hanging right where it is."

"Ew," Sky muttered as she walked past Caesar, understanding the double meaning behind his phrase, before she went to crouch over the Chinese billionaire with Yin walking over so he could translate that she was going to get him out of his cuffs.

"Caesar, you got a back-up," Barney sighed, feeling more like a babysitter than a mercenary leader at that point in time.

Caesar looked like he was ready to argue before he handed over his weapon, reluctant to let go. "If I don't get this back, your ass is terminated."

"In your dreams."

"Trench, we got a way out," Barney announced as Sky finished picking the locks on the cuffs—and by picking she meant jabbing her largest knife into the key-hole multiple times until the rusted metal snapped—so Gunnar and Toll could move over to help the man up.

"Thanks, but I have my own way out," Trench announced.

"I hate to break up the bromance," Lee said, walking up to the two men and tapping his watch. "But we're twenty-seconds late. Get money bags up and lets move!"

Immediately the team started walking for the door, with Trench and Barney leading the way. "I hate owing you," Trench muttered.

"Yeah, well you do big boy."

Trench glared before he looked over his shoulder to the sole female of the group. "Good to see you Baby-Face."

Sky smiled slightly and gave a two-finger salute. "Catch ya later, Trench." With that they all broke off, the Expendables going one way down the hall while Trench went in the opposite direction.

Sky stayed at the back of the group, with Toll, Gunnar, Yin, and the billionaire before they passed by the kitchen Yin had gotten caught in. As they passed by, Gunnar spotted the pile of bodies just before Yin grabbed his rifle from the counter and ran out to rejoin them. "Did you win?" He asked with a grin on his face.

Yin didn't even hesitate. "Of course I win!"

"Move it, guys!" Toll shouted as he picked up the pace as they made it out through the roof exit that Barney and Lee entered through. They all piled onto the roof and walked over to the edge only for people to start firing on them. They all opened fire, aiming at the men before Yin ran over to the tower on the roof and started climbing it. The second he made it to the top he started firing down at the man, making time for Toll to begin his climb up.

"I'm out!" Barney shouted, running over to the tower, pausing in order to put on his lucky ring.

Lee looked over his shoulder before rolling his eyes. "You put on your lucky ring _now_?" Sky looked back and saw that Gunnar had the billionaire on his back and was climbing up the tower and the enemy soldiers were rushing up from the ramp on the roof. Barney started up the ladder and she felt her heart start beating faster, knowing she was next to climb. "Skylar Christmas, start moving your ass!" Lee shouted to her, shoving her over to the tower.

"I hate heights, you know this!" Sky shouted as she ran over to the ladder and started climbing up, only for her father to follow closely behind. Caesar shot at a water tower, before hoping onto the ladder, sending a wave of water crashing down onto the enemy soldiers, giving them some breathing room. Sky felt her arms and legs start to shake when she got past a certain height and looked down, seeing just how high off the ground she was. She bit her lip and kept looking up, trying to focus on Barney's boots, watching them to try and maintain her composure. But then again, with her breathing coming out in short breaths and her heard pounding in her chest, she was sure her composure was pretty much gone.

When she made it onto the last step she felt Toll and Barney reach down to haul her the rest of the way up before her godfather hooked up her zip-line just behind his while Toll hooked on just behind Gunnar and Yin's. When Caesar and Lee made it up, the heavy weapons specialist hooked on just behind his partner while Lee hooked on behind his daughter. Sky looked down at the height they were zip-lining and she gripped the leather strap in her hand so tight she felt the blood slowly rush out of it. Zip-lining wasn't bad when she wasn't far off the ground, like the first job she had called the shots on. But this was _way_ too high for her tastes and with only a leather strap and her own strength between her and splattering on the ground, she wasn't feeling confident.

"Uh… is there any way I can just sprint through the woods and avoid—"

Her answer came when the other men jumped off the ledge and her father planted his boot into her butt and knocked her off, laughing at her terrified screaming. Hearing gun fire ahead of them, Sky gripped her gun with her right hand and maintained her death grip on the strap with her left hand as she started firing on the soldiers hidden in the trees and bushes. She managed to catch a few as she zipped by and noticed one on an upcoming tower. She tried to shoot him down but they were coming too fast, but at a scream she looked back and saw that her dad had kicked the man off. She heard what sounded like a car flipping over before she noticed Barney wince in pain as a man on the next tower shot at him. Sky immediately fired at him, hitting him in the chest while a shot from behind her caught the man in the head, sending him tumbling over and into their line, snapping it.

Sky let out a scream before using her instincts to land on her feet and rolled to take most of the impact, landing next to Barney and her father. Her dad was up within seconds and she pushed herself up just after him before she noticed the large Italian still trying to get up from the ground. "Why always me?" Barney muttered, pushing himself up to his knees.

"You hit?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, twice."

"Better you than us."

"That's nice," Barney wheezed out, finally getting to his feet just as six soldiers shot out from the bushes, aiming weapons at them.

Sky tensed and wanted to reach for her knives, but they were outgunned and outnumbered. She fell back so she was standing in between Barney and Lee and held her hands in the air as her father and godfather did the same. "Did you order room service?"

"Not really," Barney muttered, extending his index finger and his thumb so it looked like a gun. Sky caught the gesture and internally prayed Billy saw them and what was happening.

"This could be a piss-poor ending," Lee said through clenched teeth, casting a look towards Sky before noticing the gesture Barney was making. "Is that thing loaded?"

"We can only hope," he replied. In a split second he pretended to fire, only to have gun shots plow into the three men in front of him. He turned to the three behind and mirrored the gesture and the three men were shot in the chest just as the first three were. Relief and pride filled Barney's system as he pumped his fist. "Yes!"

_"__Sorry sir, I had to adjust for a wind shift,"_ Billy's voice floated through their ears.

"That's alright," Barney assured saluting to the general direction that he knew the young sniper was. "Move to the last position."

_"__Moving out, sir."_

Sky smirked and looked towards her father as they all started running through the woods to the area the plane was located. "You still don't like him?"

"Still don't like him," Lee answered without hesitation as they broke through the tree line and started sprinting towards the plane. "No one's good enough for my baby girl."

Sky smiled just as they made it to their aircraft, immediately hopping inside and sitting into the closest seat and strapping herself in as her father and Barney ran to the cockpit. "Stay strapped in, Sky, this is gonna get bumpy!" Barney shouted.

"Didn't plan on moving anywhere, but thanks!"

Lee chuckled as they started up the plane and took off haphazardly. Sky clenched her hands tighter around the bottom of the seat and closed her eyes, trying to fight the dizziness that overtook her as Barney made a very sharp turn in the skies, heading towards the others. She heard Barney over the comms announce that the cavalry was coming while Caesar started shouting that they took their time. She tried not to laugh because she was pretty sure if she opened her mouth for any reason she would be sick. Her dad ducked into the bottom of the plane before he started firing at the other boats chasing the others down.

"Damn he's good…" Barney muttered. "You're good kid."

_"__I appreciate that, sir."_

Hearing Billy's voice over the comms, Sky smiled slightly. "You taking guys out?"

_"__Racking up a body count, Sky."_

She was about to respond before Barney started flying with the bottom of the plane in the water and she snapped her mouth shut and looked out the open doorway at the water rushing past. She heard her dad grumbling about something, causing Barney to chuckle. "We'll swing by to pick you up, kid," Barney assured.

_"__Won't be late, sir."_

A banging sound on the top of the plane caught Sky's attention and a pit of dread formed in her stomach. "Aw shit," she muttered, looking up to see Barney looking back towards her with a fearful expression on his face. Just as she got the last buckle off a man swung into the plane and started taking off towards her. She ducked underneath his wild swing and hit him in the throat, sending him falling backwards and onto the ground, coughing and trying to catch his breath. He reached forward and tossed an ammo box at Sky's face, hitting her cut hand and causing her to hiss in pain. Just as the man got up she roundhouse kicked him in the face before Spartan kicking him in the chest, sending him backwards near the open doorway.

Just as he got to his feet she kicked him out the doorway, only for him to grab onto her leg and nearly drag her out with him. He lost a grip on her leg and fell into the water, while Sky hung half out of the plane, her lower torso dragging through the water as she hung on for all she was worth to the doorframe with her arms. "Barney!" She shouted, only to get a mouthful of water. She closed her eyes and sputtered, trying to catch her breath and trying not to let go of the doorframe. She was feeling weighted down by the water and the gear on her and she felt her grip start slipping. She tried in vain to call out to her Godfather again but there was too much water around and she just ended up choking on it.

Right when she thought she was going to lose her grip a hand reached down and grabbed the back of her Kevlar, lifting her up from the water and hauling her into the plane. She coughed and sputtered, taking in gasps of air before she looked up and saw Barney crouched over her. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm—" Sky's eyes widened in horror. "Who's flying the plane?"

Barney froze before he shot up and sprinted back to the controls.

Sky shook her head before hearing the order for the others to use their jet ski's to get onto the plane. Immediately she shot up and moved towards the back, unhooking the back door so that the others could get in after they brought in their jet skis. Just a few moments later she heard loud boom's from the plane shooting at the dock just ahead of them, full of soldiers.

"You missed!" Barney shouted at her father.

_"__You're_ aiming!"

The other Expendables entered a few seconds after, all piling in before Yin closed the door, bringing up the rear. "What the hell happened to you?" Caesar asked as Toll strapped the billionaire in, noticing the soaking wet female member of their team.

"I kinda fell out of the plane."

Gunnar promptly steered her away from the doors and into a seat, strapping her in.

A large explosion caught their attention before they heard Barney shouting for them to drop the skis. Gunnar and Toll ran towards the back to started pushing the jet skis off the back to lessen the weight while Yin slammed the door to the plane shut to avoid any more near falls. Sky craned her neck to look to the front and saw that they were on a collision course with a bridge. She looked to her dad and noticed how he looked back at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"We're all gonna die, aren't we?" Sky asked.

Lee just pursed his lips together as Barney tried to get the plane to pull up. "Climb, baby, climb. Climb, climb," Barney muttered over and over again as they got closer and closer.

"It's not getting up!" Lee shouted to his friend.

Barney ignored him and pulled back on the controls harder before miraculously they pulled up in time to sail over the bridge. A collective sigh of relief filled the plane while Barney held him his hand triumphantly. "Lucky ring."

Lee laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, sure, lucky ring."

Barney laughed and smiled before changing direction, heading towards the rendezvous point with their sniper. It took just a few minutes to arrive at the location and land quickly, allowing Billy to enter before they took off once again. Billy stowed his weapon and took the seat across from his girlfriend, before he narrowed his eyes at her state. "What happened?"

"She fell out the plane," Yin answered easily.

"You _fell_ out the plane?" Billy asked in shock and worry.

"Only a little bit," she shrugged with a smile.

Suddenly Lee was in the back portion of the plane, towering over his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "You _fell_ out of the _plane?!"_

"Just a little! Barney got me back in!"

"How do you fall out of the plane?" Toll asked, slightly amused, while the billionaire watched the situation in absolute confusion and slight fear.

"She was kicking some guy's ass off the plane when she was nearly dragged out," Barney answered loudly from his spot at the controls. "Cut the girl some slack, she did what she had to."

Sky nodded enthusiastically at that and smiled up at her father, hoping he'd stop freaking out. Lee sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just don't do that again, got it?" He ordered, walking to the back to grab a large blanket before walking it back over to wrap around her. "And take a nap. We've got a long flight to China and I don't want you puking the entire way there."

"Got it."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Hebei Province, China_

_January 5__th__, 2013_

Sky tried to sit still as Toll finished wrapping up her left hand. Somewhere around the fourth hour of flying, Sky had woken up after her hand started stinging and the MMA enthusiast had quickly volunteered to help patch it up for her. It wasn't a big injury and it definitely didn't need stitches, so he decided just to clean it off, put some ointment on it and wrap it up. The second he was done, she thanked him before unstrapping herself from her seat.

"Whoa there, look who's growing a set!" Caesar laughed as he watched the skittish girl glare his way.

"Shut up," she muttered, standing up to start stripping her Kevlar off. "I'm just tired of sitting in this for so long. It's so bulky," she complained, grabbing her duffel bag by Yin's feet so she could start tossing her gear and weapons in, starting to feel lighter than she had in hours.

"If you hadn't freaked out earlier when we tried to help get your gear off while you were sleeping then you wouldn't need to complain now," the heavy weapons specialist pointed out.

"You guys trained me. You really thought I _wouldn't_ pull a knife when I felt someone pulling at my gear while I was sleeping?"

"That's my girl!" Lee called out from the front, laughing in amusement.

Once she was down to her t-shirt, pants, and boots, she walked back over to sit beside Billy, smiling slightly when he shifted so he had his arm around her. She pulled on the ski hat on her head—which was thankfully dry—and leaned further into him. "So, where the hell are we right now, anyway?"

"We're approximately twenty miles outside of Beijing," Lee called out for his daughter before he went back to running through the systems check with Barney.

"Not that I want to hear it, but what's the oil pressure?" Barney asked.

"Faulty."

"Aw, great. The altimeter?"

"Can you believe it's stuck on ten thousand feet?"

"Hydraulics?"

"What hydraulics? Congratulations, you bought another piece of junk."

"Hey, can we talk when you're not too busy?" Billy called out from the back, leaning forward so he could look to Barney.

"Sure, anytime," the Italian called out before looking towards Lee. "Kid's amazing."

"So am I. You're just used to it," Lee smirked.

Barney laughed and shook his head before looking over his shoulder. "Get the client ready."

Immediately, Yin stood up and finished strapping on his parachute while Gunnar hauled the billionaire up to his feet to adjust the harness that they had attached to him earlier in the flight. Toll moved out of the way while Caesar stood by the hatch button and Sky was practically climbing into Billy's lap to get away from the hole that was going to open up in the floor; not that he minded any.

"What is going on?" The billionaire asked in confusion as Gunnar hooked him up to Yin.

"Looks like you're taking a short-cut home pal," Toll spoke up with a bit of a smile on his face.

"Parachute good?" Gunnar asked, leaning down to look at Yin, making sure his partner was all set for jumping out of the plane. At the thumb up he received, Gunnar nodded and continued to hook up the client. The client started freaking out.

"Parachute? Why a parachute?"

"Can you believe they changed our landing permit to tomorrow?" Lee asked with an amused smile on his face.

Barney grinned. "Yeah, but it's okay, he'll get home a little earlier. Fifteen seconds!"

"Opening the hatch!" Caesar announced, hitting the button and opening the hatch in the floor, just in front of Yin, the client, and Gunnar.

"Yang, get money bags home safely!" Lee called out.

"So when you coming back?" Gunnar asked, holding onto the client until Yin was ready.

Yin shrugged. "Maybe soon, maybe never. Maybe try new life."

"Then who am I supposed to pick on?"

"You will find another minority."

Barney turned around in his seat, holding a camera and smiled at the three men standing up in the back. "Yang, smile." Yin held up a thumb to the camera and looked stoned-faced, Gunnar behind them was pouting and glaring at Yin, and the client was eyeing the hatch door with horror on his face.

Yin smiled before fist-bumping Gunnar. "See you later, alligator." With that he said something in Chinese to the client before jumping out of the plane.

"That's real Chinese take-out," Lee said, causing everyone to laugh.

Gunnar stood at the hatch door, unafraid as he took a swig from his flask. Sky peered curiously, trying to see the hole when Billy nudged her towards it. She shrieked and jumped backwards, landing on his lap before she glared at him and hit his arm. "Asshole!" She hissed before climbing off his lap and crawling on the floor over to Toll and Caesar, worming her way in between them and holding onto them tightly. Billy laughed in response.

Lee looked back at the ground before looking at Barney. "Floor it, I'm homesick."

"You got it."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_January 7__th__, 2013_

Barney and Lee stared out at the overly excited woman at the bar as they sat in the small table just next to the larger table where the other Expendables sat. They had all arrived from their mission just an hour earlier and after showering and changing they all decided to go out and have a drink. Lacy had met up with them at the bar and immediately greeted the team enthusiastically now that she knew each member better. Currently, Gunnar was mumbling about some chemistry equation, while Sky—who was seated beside Billy—smiled and humored him, asking questions. Toll and Caesar just rolled their eyes at the conversation, knowing that Gunnar got that way on occasion, while Billy just watched and smiled, playing with his girlfriend's hair as she engaged the blonde giant.

Barney looked back to the bar where Lacy was asking for two more beers, cheering enthusiastically when she heard a song she loved coming on over the speakers in the biker bar they frequented. "Christmas, my friend, please tell me you ain't going through with this," Barney spoke up even though neither he nor Lee took their eyes off of the bubbly woman.

"Of course I am. Look at the girl. Who wouldn't want to marry her?"

"She cheated on you."

"It was a half-cheat."

Barney raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"The other side of a half-truth; the effects are murky."

"Murky huh?" Barney asked as he and Lee waved to the woman who had waved to them with a wide smile. "I hate to break it to you pal, but your girlfriend has a world-class cheating gene."

"I should stab you in the heart."

"Too late," the Italian retorted as Lacy made her way over to the group.

"You know, I used to think you had a black heart," Lee muttered, looking at his friend with a slight glare. "Black is too colorful." His entire demeanor changed as Lacy got close enough to hear. "Hey baby," he said, as she reached down to peck him on the lips. She sat down on his lap and hooked her arm around his neck before looking to the Italian.

"Hey Barney."

"Hey Lacy."

"Promise next time not to keep my baby and my best girl away for so long?" She asked, smiling at Sky—who smiled in return and whispered something to her own boyfriend—before looking at Lee. Lee turned to Barney with a smirk while the Italian tried not to look too amused.

"Cross my heart."

With that Barney got up and took the seat at the other Expendables table, sitting next to Sky. He noticed her looking at him sympathetically and he tossed her a wink. They'd had quite a few conversations regarding her dad's mushy behavior with Lacy, so they were essentially on the same page; except that Sky actually liked and semi-trusted Lacy. "Look who's lost in space," Caesar said to their leader, casting a look to Gunnar.

The blonde looked to the Italian blankly. "You got a pen?"

Without questioning—because honestly there was really no point in questioning Gunnar—Barney reached into his back pocket and pulled out his black pen, designed in black with silver crossbones on it. "You got anything that doesn't have skulls on it?" Lee asked with an amused smile.

"As a matter of fact, I don't," Barney retorted before handing the pen over to the modern day Viking. Gunnar immediately started writing a bunch of letters and numbers on a napkin like some sort of equation. Billy watched before frowning and whispering to Sky, asking what he was doing. The brunette girl just hit his leg and told him to watch.

"Einstein's theory of spatial relativity, only I made it better," Gunnar said, holding up the napkin full of the complicated equation. After holding it up, making sure everyone saw, he blew his nose in the napkin, causing the entire table to start laughing.

"Believe it or not, before Gunnar became chemically imbalanced he went to MIT and had a master's degree in chemical engineering," Barney explained for the sniper since he was the only one of the group that didn't know of Gunnar's background.

"This idiot actually had a brain," Toll laughed. "You believe that?"

"What happened?" Billy asked with a smile tugging at his lips.

"He quit to be a bouncer," Caesar explained with a shrug.

Gunnar nodded. "I wanted to get close to this girl that danced at this club."

"I can't believe she dumped you," Barney said in a teasing tone.

Gunnar glared his way. "Wouldn't you?"

"I would, yeah."

Gunnar stared for a second before he started laughing, and soon the others at the table all started laughing. Billy whispered something to Sky before he stood up and touched Barney's shoulder lightly. "You mind if we talk outside?"

"Sure," Barney immediately answered, standing up so he could lead the boy outside of the bar and towards the entrance where all the motorcycles were parked outside in neat rows. Barney walked over to lean against his while Billy leaned against Gunnar's, taking care not to lean to heavily on it. He didn't want to anger the large blonde man.

Barney watched and waited as the young sniper pursed his lips and looked to the ground obviously trying to think over what it is he wanted to say. "How do I put this…?"

"It's best to be straight up," the Italian advised.

"I feel… uh… I'm not sure what I feel."

Barney didn't need much more for him to get the picture. He had a feeling this would be coming for a while now. He could just tell when he looked at the kid's face. "This life… it's just not for you, is it?"

"I thought it was," Billy admitted, looking up to meet eyes with his mentor, feeling conflicted. "You gave me a chance to be one of you and you'll have my respect forever."

"And you've got my respect too, kid. What are you going to do?"

"I'd like to finish out the month."

The Italian sighed. "Sky's probably not gonna be too happy."

"I actually want Sky to come with me."

Barney froze. All the muscles in his body tensed up the second the sentence was out of his protégé's mouth. His eyes cut to Billy's staring him down to see if he was absolutely serious with his request. Billy seemed to mistake his surprise for confusion, because he went on to explain. "I love Sky, she's an amazing girl. And I know it might sound young and stupid, but I can take care of her. I've got all the money I've made with you guys saved up so I can buy things for her and give her the kind of life she deserves."

"Kid, you know I like you and respect you, but you're talking to the wrong person about this," Barney replied, unsure what else to say. "Did you talk to Sky about this? I _know_ you didn't talk to Lee, because you're still breathing."

Billy gave a small chuckle before shaking his head. "No, I haven't talked to them yet. I just wanted to run this by you first and see what you think."

"It really doesn't matter what I think kid. It matters what she thinks."

The sniper thought about that for a second before nodding. The two fell into a silence before Billy looked up at his mentor with an apologetic expression on his face. "I don't want you to think I'm deserting you."

"Nah, listen, if I had to do it all over again at your age, I'd be doing what you're doing," Barney assured, though he didn't really broach the topic of his Goddaughter. "Why don't you freshen up that beer?" He asked, nodding to the beer in the hands of the younger man. Billy smiled and nodded, walking back into the bar. Barney sighed in relief the second he left before shaking his head and hopping on the bike. He had no idea what Sky would say when Billy told her his plan, but he sure as hell knew what Lee would say. And he just hopped in the morning he'd find his sniper alive and in on piece, without any knife like injuries.

* * *

Sky knew something was up the second Billy had gotten back from talking with Barney. He had gotten a new beer and sat back down in his seat, not really engaging in conversation and bouncing his knee. It was a nervous habit she noticed he had. And she also noticed that he kept looking at her every few seconds. Immediately a million possibilities and scenarios ran through her head, wondering why her boyfriend was acting strange. After around twenty minutes of the same behavior, she had finally had enough and made an excuse of going home early since she had jet lag. She had said bye to the others and kissed her father and Lacy goodbye before Billy followed behind, saying he was going to turn in too.

The entire ride to the tattoo shop was done in silence, which wasn't overly concerning since she was riding on the back of his motorcycle, making talking difficult, but because of his odd behavior it made her a bit apprehensive. The second they made it back to the garage and Billy parked his bike Sky hopped off and pulled off her helmet, tossing him a curious look. "Alright, so are you going to tell me what's—"

Sky was cut off as Billy swooped in and kissed her, pressing his lips firmly onto hers. His lips moved against hers, his hands threading into her hair as he licked at her bottom lip. Without hesitation she parted her lips to allow him entrance, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. A small part of her mind piped up, reminding her that she was supposed to be questioning Billy at that point in time, but the larger part of her mind told the small part to shut up and enjoy what was happening. When Billy let his hand started snaking underneath her t-shirt, she decided to listen to that part.

* * *

Sky traced random patterns on Billy's bare stomach, letting her fingertips trail down his toned stomach as she looked up at the ceiling, her legs tangled in his underneath the sheets of his bed. Thankfully before her mind was too far gone, she had realized that having sex in the garage where any of the others could show up was _not_ a good idea. So they'd stumbled to the lift like a pair of horny teenagers before finally making it to his room. His arm was wrapped around her back and her head was on her chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart before she remembered her question from earlier. "Now that you're more relaxed will you tell me what had you so wound up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were acting weird ever since you talked with Barney," she pointed out, lifting her head up to look at his face. She saw the second that indecision and worry flickered across his face and his jaw started clenching and unclenching. She narrowed her eyes and pointed to him with a frown on her face. "Like that. Now tell me what's wrong."

"After this month, I'm leaving the Expendables."

Sky's heart stopped, her entire body freezing. "What? _Why?_ D-Did Barney say something or—"

"No, Barney didn't do this," Billy assured, pushing himself up from the bed so he was resting on his elbows. He reached his hand up to cup her cheek, stroking it lovingly. "This was _my _choice. And I want you to come with me." She stopped moving, feeling a pit form in her stomach. Suddenly she started to feel sick. She must've made some sort of expression that showed how she felt, because immediately he cupped her face with both his hands and started explaining himself rapidly. "This life just isn't for me, Sky, but I love you. And I want you to come with me. I was thinking about going to France, starting a new life. And you did say you've never been to France. But if you don't want to settle down there, we can go somewhere else; you pick. I just want you to be happy."

"Happy?" Sky echoed, looking up at him, searching his blue eyes. She saw how sincere he was, how much he wanted this, and it made her feel worse. "Billy, I'm happy _here._ I'm happy with my life _now_. I can't go off to France or some other country. They need me."

"They can find someone else, Sky," Billy said in an almost pleading tone.

Sky reached up to hold his hands at her face and closed her eyes. She could feel tears start to prickle behind her eyelids. "No, they can't Billy," she said removing his hands, her vision beginning to water. She gestured vaguely to the building around them and shook her head. "They can't find another person who shoots like Barney, but throws knives like my dad. They can't find another person who fights like Yin and understands how to deal with Gunnar. They can't find another person with weapon knowledge like Caesar and has Toll's big heart. They can't find someone else, Billy, because they need _me_. That's my _family_. I can't just abandon them. They're all I know. This _life_ is all I've known. I… I can't leave them. I just can't."

Heartbroken was the only way to describe the expression that crossed the sniper's face and seeing him look so hurt and sad felt like someone had punched her in the gut. "So where does that leave us?" He asked after a few seconds of silence.

Sky felt a tear roll down her cheek before she smiled sadly at him. "It leaves us at a crossroads… and we're going in different directions." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, letting her lips linger as his hands held onto her hips slightly. When she pulled away, she could see that he had unshed tears in his eyes and she felt her throat start to close. "We can't do this. I can't handle long-distance relationships, and I don't want to be the reason you stay in a place you don't love."

"But I love you."

"And I love you too Billy, you know I do. But you know this is the right thing."

Before she could change her mind she climbed out of the bed, quickly slipping on the first t-shirt she found before bunching up her clothes and walking out of the room, determined not to look back no matter how much she wanted to. She quickly walked down the hall to her room before shutting and locking her door, leaning her forehead against the piece of wood, trying to reassure herself that what she did was right. It was the only thing she could do. It was for the best.

Trying to take her mind off of it, Sky grabbed a fresh pair of underwear and a towel and hopped into the shower. Underneath the spray of water she let a few more tears fall down her face, wondering how things ended so abruptly; how _she_ ended things so abruptly. She felt horrible. She felt guilty. She felt heartbroken.

Just as she got out of the shower and pulled on her underwear her text message notification went off. She quickly tossed her towel onto the counter and looked down at her phone, seeing that it was a mass message sent to all the Expendables from Barney.

**_Change of plans. New mission tomorrow; item retrieval courtesy of Church. We leave at 0500. Get some rest and be ready. (11:36 PM)_**

Sky furrowed her eyebrows and sighed before walking out of her bathroom and into her room. She grabbed her gear again and tossed it into her weapons bag and went through her closet, pulling out a pair of jeans she wore whenever her cargo pants were dirty on missions and a long-sleeved black shirt that she changed into quickly. After pulling on and lacing up her combat boots, she grabbed her ski-hat and walked back down to the garage, tossing her stuff into the backseat of her car before she pulled out of the garage and onto the street, driving towards the hangar. She would just sleep in one of the cots Barney always kept around just in case.

By the time she showed up, Barney was already there, just climbing out of the plane. She grabbed her gear and walked up to him, giving him the best smile she could muster at the moment. He took one look at her and grabbed her bag before placing it on the floor so he could pull her into a hug. She was surprised for a second before she hugged him back, desperately needing comfort. "He told you, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And you said?"

Sky heard the apprehension in her Godfather's voice and she hugged him tighter. "That I'm an Expendable."

"…I know this is gonna sound harsh, but I'm glad." She couldn't help but laugh and pulled away, spotting the smile on the large Italian's face. He grabbed her bag before nudging her to the cots. "Go get some sleep. I'll stow your stuff."

"How long should the mission take?" Sky asked, moving towards the row of beds.

"It's a simple retrieval. Shouldn't take longer than two days."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is going to be a bit longer than most of the others, because of the detail I wanted to put in to get these scenes across better. Also, I'm going to give a fair warning, I _am _following the Expendables 2 storyline, which means that the scene with Billy _will_ still come to pass. So, sorry if it gets sad or feels a bit angsty. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Gasak Mountains, Albania _

_January 8__th__, 2013_

Sky focused all her attention on cleaning her guns and knives from her spot beside Gunnar, the farthest away from Billy. Caesar was toying around with his straight razor and Toll was reading his book—though they split their attention between their tasks, staring openly at the two youngest members sharing curious looks as to why the normally inseparable pair was so far apart. Barney and Lee where the only ones who knew of the break-up of the couple. Lee had shown up at the hangar a little bit after his daughter and she and Barney gave him the rundown of what happened. He had been momentarily horrified that Billy had suggested taking his daughter away before he was relieved and proud of his daughter that she chose to stay. The others had all shown up in the morning and by that time, the brunette girl didn't feel the need to explain to anyone anymore. And since Billy wasn't coming forth with the information, the others were left guessing. Gunnar, however, was only vaguely aware of the strange behavior from the brunette girl beside him. Most of his attention was on their 'guest' Maggie Chen.

Maggie was a Chinese woman that seemed content keeping quiet and to herself. They hadn't gotten much information on her—because Church hadn't _given_ much information—but Barney told them that she was there to help reclaim a case from the plane and that she wasn't to be harmed. That was it.

Gunnar cleared his throat lightly and Sky looked up, assuming he was trying to get her attention. When she saw his gaze on their guest she pursed her lips to fight back a smile before looking back down at her Beretta, only giving a fraction of attention to her previous task. Gunnar tried clearing his throat again and Sky had to bite her lip, looking up to see that she wasn't the only one who noticed the blonde giant's actions. Caesar was rolling his eyes as he sharpened his razor blade and Toll was exhaling loudly. Just for the hell of it she cleared her throat lightly, earning a pointed look and a slight shove from Gunnar, and two barely restrained chuckles from the heavy weapons specialist and the demolitions expert. She just grinned in response.

At his third attempt at 'covertly' gaining Maggie's attention she shifted her head slightly but still didn't look up. Gunnar grinned and looked across the aisle to Toll and Caesar. "She's into me."

"She hates you," Caesar responded immediately, not looking up from his blade.

"Watch this," Gunnar said, taking a deep breath. Toll looked up from his book and shared a raised eyebrow with Caesar and Sky before sticking his thumb into his book and closing it, eager to see what it was the man was about to do. Gunnar cleared his throat and faked a cough before clearing his throat again. Maggie still didn't look up. After another round of rather obnoxious throat clearing and coughing, Maggie looked up and over to the blonde, clearly not amused. "U-Uh…" Was the only thing Gunnar was able to make out before she lowered her head again to go back to her reading.

Caesar looked up and pretended to drag his razor across his throat, staring at Gunnar.

Sky let a little laugh out and immediately tried to smother it. She looked around to see if anyone heard it and felt a jolt go through her when she saw Billy looking her way. She quickly averted her eyes to the floor and went back to cleaning her weapon, hoping no one else saw what just happened.

Up in the front of the plane, Lee finished scanning the cabin before turning back to look at Barney, gesturing vaguely in Maggie's direction. "You know if anything happens to her it comes back on us. You didn't think to ask me _my_ opinion?"

"I told you ten times before, I didn't have a choice unless you don't mind going to jail," Barney retorted.

"Church intimidated you," Lee accused, earning a glare from Barney. The sound of quaking ducks filled the air and Lee started reaching for his phone in his pocket.

Barney raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that they woman you can't fully trust calling again?"

"You know I will stab you one day," the knife thrower threatened before answering his phone. "Hey baby… yeah of course I'm thinking about you. What else is there to think about?"

"Hopeless."

"Hey," Maggie spoke up for the first time, looking towards Billy. The sniper looked up and gave her a polite smile, which bordered on amusement the second he felt Gunnar's gaze burrow into the side of his head. "You were in the Army, right? I can tell."

"Yes ma'am, three years. Three tours in Afghanistan."

"Didn't like it anymore?" She questioned.

"Uh…" Billy started, trying to buy some time. Sky bit her lip, having heard this story before and continued cleaning her weapons. "It's a long story."

"I would like to hear it."

"Alright… I uh, was trained as a sniper and an instructor too, but I actually wanted to mix it up; you know the action bit. One time we were stuck out in this hellhole valley," Billy started, gaining the attention of the other Expendables seeing as he hadn't explained this story to the others. Toll pulled off his glasses and started biting on the edge and Caesar lowered his blade to look at the boy. Gunnar shifted his seating so he was looking their way, using Sky's lap and his bunched up jacket as a pillow. Sky rolled her eyes but allowed him to lie across her lap. After all, she'd used him as a pillow countless times before. She just quickly reassembled her guns and put them back in her bag so that she didn't have to worry about anything falling on the blonde's face.

"Around thirty Taliban opened up from the roofs above us. They had about eight of us pinned down bad, so I called for artillery support, but 'no way' says the Captain; didn't want to endanger the locals. So we scattered; some crawled to a ditch, some to a dry river bed and the rest bailed, but we were still stuck in the kill zone. We battled for… I don't know… three hours? And finally an apache gunship chopper showed up to provide air cover. It scattered the Taliban, but… the smoke clears and four of my squad are dead in the ditch and two in the river bed; all dead for nothing. You know what the most _screwed_ up thing of all… when I got back to base that night I found out that they had shot this stray dog that I adopted. Commander's orders to get rid of all animals on the base. I mean you'd think we had enough damn shooting for one day, ya know? Anyway… I figured it was time to move on. I heard these guys were looking for someone and here I am."

Silence fell across the cabin.

Suddenly Barney took a sharp turn, starting to come in for a landing near their target site and immediately Sky cursed under her breath and wrapped her arm tightly around the upper torso of Gunnar, still lying out on her lap. He chuckled lightly and pet her hand affectionately. "You're good Baby-Face. Flying ain't so bad."

"Flying isn't bad. Knowing you're thousands of feet in the air _is,"_ Sky retorted in a huffy voice, refusing to release her hold.

"You're afraid of flying?" Maggie asked, looking in Sky and Gunnar's direction.

Gunnar beamed at the attention.

"Heights," Sky answered with a small smile. "I'm afraid of heights."

Maggie nodded and tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes slightly at the young woman. "I can't figure you out. What branch were you?"

"I'm not military," she answered with a shrug. "I'm just mercenary."

Maggie frowned in confusion.

"Baby-Face is Lee's daughter," Gunnar explained, trying to toss Maggie his version of a charming smile. "She's been around before even I joined up." She looked surprised while Sky just smiled.

"These guys are her family. And this is her life," Billy spoke up, tossing her a meaningful look. Sky felt her stomach tighten and she gave a tight lipped smile and a nod just before they touched down for landing and her death grip on Gunnar increased. It took only a few more minutes before Barney and Lee walked into the back, telling them all to gear up. They all got up and started strapping weapons onto their bodies, and bundling up for the cold temperature outside. Sky had on her long-sleeved shirt and her dad's black pullover, forgoing her jacket since it would be too bulky to move in and they wouldn't be outside too long. Just as she pulled her ski-hat over her loose hair, the others all started filing out. She filled out behind Caesar, slinging her weapon around her torso before pulling on her fingerless gloves just as her boots touched the ground.

They started hiking up from the docks towards the woods, before Barney started asking questions. "You've got that transponder?" He asked from his spot in the front, with Maggie behind him, Lee behind her.

"Yes. We need to travel fifteen kilometers northwest."

"Okay."

After that all other conversations ceased. They walked quickly and quietly through the land, heading towards the woods just in front of them. Sky kept scanning the areas around them, looking for any signs of enemies and tried to keep her eyes off Billy's back seeing as she was in position right behind him and in front of Gunnar. They entered the forest and kept going at an even pace up the inclining terrain before they broke off and started walking where they felt like it. Ducks filled the air and Barney rolled his eyes, pantomiming holding a phone to his ear. "Oh hello darling," he mocked.

Lee picked up his phone and glared at Barney. "Hello darling."

Barney chuckled and fist-bumped Sky, who—was much as she loved Lacy—was starting to get annoyed with the numerous phone calls just on this one mission. "Alright let's move, we're going to get in and out of here fast," Barney shouted, looking around at the group while Lee tried to worm his way off the phone.

"The sooner the better," Caesar agreed.

"Billy the Kid."

"Yeah?" Billy looked up to his mentor.

"Today's your lucky day, you get to take point," Barney ordered before looking over his shoulder to his goddaughter. He knew she was going to hate him for what he was about to do, but it was necessary. "Baby-Face, you go with him and watch his back."

Both of the youngest members tensed and shared a look. Billy recovered quickly and nodded. "My pleasure, sir."

"We'll keep in contact," Sky assured, glaring at her Godfather briefly before Billy took off up the incline and Sky ran to catch up with him, keeping pace with his long strides. She pumped her arms and legs trying not to fall behind and she smirked when she heard the conversation over the comms.

_"__Impressive."_

_"__Remember when you could to do that?"_

_"__No, do you?"_

_"__I'd blow them away if I had to."_

Sky rolled her eyes at her father.

_"__Really? Look down… look down, you see what I see? Short legs. A thousand bucks says you can't catch them." _Sky laughed and she heard Billy chuckle just beside her as they neared the top of the incline. _"__Go on Flash."_

_"…__I'm a little busy."_

Sky slowed her pace when she noticed Billy starting to slow and she looked around, through the trees, seeing that they were at the top of the hill. She sucked in a deep breath, and continued down the incline before she saw pieces of debris littering the area of trees around them. She peered around the area, trying to figure out how much of the debris was in their area and where the rest of the plane was.

"So, as much fun as things being awkward between us is, I say we cut it out."

Sky jumped and turned around to see Billy smiling in her direction. "C'mon you can't like dancing around each other any more than I do," he continued on, his face growing a tad serious. "I… I understand what you said yesterday. I get it, I do. I don't like it and it sucks, but I get it. It wasn't fair of me to ask you to leave you family. I just... I just love you and I want us to live a safe and happy life. And I understand that you want to be here for your dad and the others, but if that ever changes... I want you to know I'll be here. But even if we're not dating anymore… I still want you in my life Sky. You're really important to me and I don't want this to be weird."

Sky smiled and switched off her comms before sighing in relief. Billy had said exactly what she needed to hear at that moment. After she had left him in his room last night, she had no idea if he even wanted to speak to her again or not. And hearing him say that he loved her, that didn't hate her, and that he still wanted to be friends even if they couldn't be together right then, she felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "That's a relief. It's too much work trying to avoid you," she joked. "So we're friends, right?"

"Friends that at one point in time used to have sex, yes."

"Oh my God, you _cannot_ ever announce that on the comms, even if we _did_ turn ours off," Sky hissed, her cheeks burning even as Billy smirked in amusement. "My dad would _castrate_ you."

Billy just shrugged as they continued down the hill, spotting the wreckage of the plane just a few yards ahead of them at the very bottom of the hill. "I'm gone by the end of the month."

"Trust me he'd _fly_ to France with the sole purpose to castrate you."

Billy laughed before turning back his comm, Sky following suit. "We found the wreckage at the bottom of the hill, sir."

_"__Slow down you two, you're making us look bad."_

Sky laughed and pressed the comm in her ear. "Say again?"

_"__You two heard."_

"Roger that, slowing it down," he spoke up, sending an amused smile to the brunette girl at his side.

_"__We appreciate it."_

Sky leaned against one of the trees around them, toeing at one of the broken wheels at her feet while Billy stood straight up holding his weapon and scanning the area around them. They waited in silence for a few minutes before Sky frowned and looked towards the blue-eyed boy. "You know, they're taking a while to get here. You think that age is starting to catch up with them?"

"We heard that!"

Billy laughed at the caught expression Sky made. She sheepishly turned and waved to her father and gave her best smile. Her father smiled slightly and rolled his eyes while Billy looked Barney's way and pointed farther past their area. "The rest of the wreckage is at the bottom of the hill."

"Good work you two," Barney complimented as the two youngest members regrouped with the others and they walked through the tree line, immediately spotting the crater that the plane had made on impact along with the jagged metal pieces left over from the crash.

"Looks like somebody had a bad day," Caesar muttered.

"Caesar, Toll, and Gunnar, go to the right," Barney ordered as he, Lee, Maggie, Billy and Sky continued forward. The other three men broke off to circle around without hesitation. The Italian noticed a few wolves around the plane, eating at the corpse of one of the passengers, before he pulled out his gun and shot three times into the air, scaring them away. They continued walking through the wreckage before Barney spotted a hill that overlooked the entire area. "Kid, Baby-Face, go get a vantage point up there."

"Got it," Sky assured before she and Billy took off again through the woods, circling around so they were heading towards the spot that Barney had pointed out. It took just a few minutes of running at their pace before they got to the vantage point and Billy started to get settled in. He picked a spot on the ground and propped up his gun before lying out on his stomach so he could look through his scope.

"I've got eyes on everyone," he said before looking up at the still standing brunette. "You gotta get down unless you want people to see us."

Sky complied immediately, sprawling out on her stomach so she was on his left side, looking over the hill and trying to see the others clearly, though all she saw was figures moving around. The sound of wolves came from all around them and Sky tensed slightly, getting a better grip on her M16. "I don't like how many wolves I hear out there."

"Just keep an eye out. We'll be in and out before they get to us," Billy assured.

Sky just nodded and kept her eyes and ears open. She heard some faint echoing from the hill below, but other than that it was silent on the comms and around them. She shifted slightly on the ground, starting to get a bit restless before a thought struck her. She immediately grabbed onto Billy's arm and looked at him seriously. "I don't hear the wolves anymore." Billy's eyes widened.

A twig snapped.

Without wasting another second, Sky rolled over onto her back only to see a man who had been trying to sneak up on them from behind. She lifted her gun up, intending to fire, but the man kicked it out of her hands, sending it skidding across the dirt and gravel. Going on instinct she kicked forward at the man's kneecap, ignoring the sickening crack it made as it bent in the opposite way before she jumped to her feet noticing that they were being surrounded by well over twenty men. She heard Billy struggling beside her, but she could only focus on the three men advancing on her. She ducked under a swing from one man and blocked a kick from the other before she lashed out, punching the first man in the face and the throat quickly before punching the other man in the gut and kneeing him in the face as he doubled over. Just as he hit the ground she rolled out of the way of an axe kick by the third before shooting to her feet and kicking him in the solar plexus with the heel of her boot, watching him go down.

Something hit her back, sending waves of pain through her system and distracting her for a few precious seconds. In those seconds, one of the men punched her in the face while another kicked at her stomach, forcing her to her knees. She was kicked repeatedly and someone punched her in the face again before she crumbled completely onto the ground, pieces of gravel digging into her cheek and neck as she tried to catch her breath and fight off the stinging sensation of pain filling her system. She felt blood flowing from above her left eye and she cursed, wanting to see the damage, but only able to stare at the dirt and pebbles below her.

"Enough."

Sky didn't recognize the voice. It sounded foreign and in control, but she definitely didn't recognize it. Immediately she could hear the men moving away from her as one person moved towards her from her right side. She tilted her head up and noticed a man dressed all in black with sunglasses and a black tattoo peeking out from the side of his neck stroll up to her with his head tilted to the side, studying her. He crouched down next to her before shooting his arm out to grab her chin, forcing her to turn her face completely towards him, making pain shoot through her neck at the awkward motion.

"Leave her be!"

She tensed hearing Billy's voice from somewhere behind her, but she couldn't turn to check on him even if she wanted to. "You seem quite young and far too pretty to be out here," the man said conversationally. "And yet you injured some of my men. What is your name?" Sky clenched her jaw and just stared defiantly at the man. He clicked his tongue in disapproval before grabbing her chin harder and jerking her forward. "I don't make a habit of hurting women. Here, I make it easier. My name is Jean Vilain, leader of the Sangs. What is your name?"

"The Baby-Face Assassin," Sky retorted through clenched teeth, using her codename.

Vilain narrowed his eyes slightly from behind his glasses, his expression impossible to read before the comms came to life in her ear. _"__Billy, Baby-Face, come on down, we're outta here."_

His eyes cut to her ear. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping her expression didn't give away anything. He reached for her ear and yanked out the comm without caution before studying it in his fingers as if it were some small mystery of life. He stared at it for a few more seconds before he smiled at her. "Let's go see your friends, Miss Baby-Face."

Sky was hauled up to her feet roughly by two men on either side of her, keeping a firm grip on her upper arms. Another man, one that seemed far too confident to be just another lackey, walked forward and moved around her, going to her back. He lifted her shirt and she started struggling—and she was vaguely aware of Billy shouting once again—before the man pulled the Beretta out from the waistband of her pants and tossed it to the ground by where her M16 and Billy's sniper rifle. He moved away from her and she could only assume he went to relieve Billy of his spare gun before she was shoved forward, forced to start walking down the hill and towards the area the Expendables had entered through. The men around her talked quietly in a different language, but she focused on trying to formulate some sort of plan.

"Your friends," Vilain said almost nonchalantly. "They have something that belongs to me. You two are going to help me retrieve it."

"What do you want?" Sky asked, tossing a quick glance over her shoulder to see Billy with a bloody cut on his forehead travelling down the side of his face, a split lip and a bloody nose. She tensed slightly at the sight but he tried to give her a reassuring smile before she was shoved forward again, snapping her attention back to her footing.

"I want what belongs to me," he replied easily, still not giving anything away. They ended up in a flat area of land that was almost entirely full of loose rocks and there was a fog rolling in around the area. Sky was yanked towards the back of the group along with Billy where they waited with six men around them, not including the two that each one of them had holding onto their arms.

"You okay?" Sky asked Billy, only to get backhanded by one of the men. A ringing filled her ears right where the man had hit his knuckles against her eardrum and she felt the cut above her left eye open up a bit more, causing more blood to flow down her eyelid. She took that as a sign she wasn't to talk and looked up to Billy again, seeing how mad he looked. She gave him a small nod, trying to show that she was alright before she heard Barney's voice up ahead of them, calling out for the two of them. She could vaguely make their forms out from the fog and she bit her lip.

There was a split second before she heard guns being pulled and then Vilain shouted out. "Drop your weapons!"

"No way!" She could hear Toll shout.

"Ain't happening," Gunnar chorused after him.

"No? Are you sure?" Almost immediately she felt herself being dragged forward just as Vilain let the taunt come out of his mouth. She tensed, realizing she was about to be used as a bargaining chip and started digging her heels into the ground, trying not to come into the line of sight of the others. It was no use however, seeing as she was dragged forward, into the center of the quasi-Mexican stand-off happening between both factions of mercenaries. She saw her father's face change drastically the second his eyes landed on hers, and she noticed that the other Expendables all looked tensed at their capture. Barney's face fell completely as he eyed his goddaughter and protégé and exhaled sharply.

"I'm sorry sir, they were waiting," Billy explained, the second they were in view.

"Drop your weapons," Vilain ordered again.

"Don't do it," the sniper said quickly after it.

Sky nodded her agreement, looking to her family. "Don't give up your weapons to these guys. We'll be fine."

Vilain quickly pulled a gun and aimed it at Barney, smiling slightly as he looked over his shoulder at Billy and Sky. "They're strong soldiers. Let's see how strong they really are."

"What? You gonna fight us yourself? Or are you gonna let your boys hold us down so you can swing on us?" Sky spat. She saw the others tense drastically at her comment, and after noticing their reaction it dawned on her that it probably wasn't the best time to taunt the people that held them at gunpoint. Vilain looked to the man Sky had pegged as his second in command and nodded in her direction, simply saying 'Hector'. The man known as Hector advanced on her and before she knew what was happening he swung at her and punched her in the face, rocking her back and making the world spin. She felt unsteady on her feet as another fist hit her face and the arms disappeared from around her. She crashed onto her hands and knees—the screaming of the others drowned out by ringing in her ears as she felt the man kick at her ribs and stomach, making it nearly impossible to breathe. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming out, but a punch to her face caused her to bite down, cutting the inside of her cheek. Blood filled her mouth and she spat at the ground, trying to get the copper taste out of her mouth before the assault stopped and a boot was placed firmly in between her shoulder blades, forcing her to lie face down on the ground. Rocks cut into her stomach from where her shirt had rode up and she still tried desperately to catch her breath despite the massive boot on her back.

Finally the boot lifted and she was grabbed roughly by the hair and hauled up to her knees, unable to muffle the small yelp as her torso pulled painfully. She tried to see past the blood on the left side of her face, but it had fallen over her eyes, making it impossible to see unless she wiped away at the blood. She kept her left eye closed and tried looking out with her right, before she saw the others staring back at her with anger and horror written across their faces. Her father looked absolutely furious. She looked to her side, trying to find Billy, but was surprised when she saw him kneeling on the ground beside her with two cuts along his chest, bleeding down the inside of his shirt. When had they cut him? Had they been hurting both of them at the same time?

"When I fire," Vilain spoke up, catching her attention. He walked lazily over to Billy and held up the gun as an example before he placed the gun at the back of Billy's head. "His head will be gone; three seconds."

"Don't give him your weapons!" Billy begged. "You don't owe me anything."

"One…"

"Don't do this, they'll kill everyone!"

"Two…"

Lee held his gun tighter and spoke to Barney through clenched teeth. "He's going to kill him."

"Three."

"Drop 'em!" Barney ordered, lowering his weapon. Immediately Vilain moved the gun away as the Expendables all dropped their weapons. Vilain's men immediately walked forward to take the weapons from them while Vilain nodded.

"I'm impressed. Very good use of intelligence. Everybody stay calm, we'll be done soon and then we'll be on our way," Vilain assured. Sky wanted to look up to see what was happening, but she couldn't bear to meet her family's eyes. She was causing them to turn themselves over to these men. It made her feel sick that this was her fault. "Bring me that knife." She looked up suddenly, spotting Hector taking Barney's knife and handing it over to his leader. "What's this symbol? I like symbol," he said, gesturing to the emblem of the Expendables: a skull with a raven standing on top of it.

When he didn't receive an answer, he lowered his turtle neck to expose the tattoo he had; it was the same tattoos the other Sangs had on their necks. "This is the symbol of the goat; the pet of Satan, they say. You have a case that belongs to me."

"Does it?" Barney challenged.

"Yes like your lives."

"The case is gone," Sky spoke up immediately, tensing for the backlash she was about to receive. Thankfully none came.

"It's lost, he doesn't have it," Billy added on quickly.

"The last time…" Vilain said, walking over so he was crouching in front of Billy, with Barney's knife still in his hands, using the tip to circle around the sniper's chest. "The case or you'll force me to cut his heart out."

Fear flickered briefly through Billy's eyes before he schooled his features and turned to look Vilain directly in his eyes. "Do it you piece of shit."

Vilain smiled.

"Wait!" Maggie called out from her spot at the back of the group. Sky looked up to see the woman holding the case in her hand so that it was seen by everyone and she bit back a curse. It saved Billy's life, but if this man got what he wanted, they were all going to be dead if he decided there was no use for them. Maggie started to walk forward before her father stuck his hand out to stop her gently.

"Let me have it," Lee assured, grabbing the case to walk forward into the middle ground. His gaze was on his daughter for a few seconds before he looked towards Vilain and Hector, the one who had beat his daughter. He walked over to them so he was a few feet away from Sky and Billy and looked at his bloody and battered daughter before he tossed the case at Hector's feet and turned to walk back to the group.

"Hey!"

_Oh no,_ Sky thought to herself as she saw the muscles in her dad's back tense up from underneath his jacket. He turned around slowly to look back at the man who was standing above her and looked unimpressed. "You talking to me?"

"Pick it up, hand it to me."

"Get it yourself," Lee hissed.

"What was that?"

"You heard."

Hector advanced on her father, pulling out a long knife and held it underneath his chin, glaring into his eyes. "Now pick it up. Hand it to me nicely… or you will get what they got."

Lee's face grew hard at the reference to the beating the two youngest members had taken. His hands clenched into fists at his side and he looked like he wanted to go for the knives that he no doubt had hidden on him somewhere. "Do it Lee," Barney ordered, obviously seeing the tense posture of his friend. But Lee didn't seem like he was ready to back down. Sky noticed her dad's reluctance to stand down and fear flooded her system seeing Hector's arm twitch.

"Dad, please," she pleaded, looking his way as some more blood dripped down her lip.

Eyes cut to look at her and the look she was receiving from her father—absolutely filled with horror and fear—made her realize that she had made a very, _very_ critical mistake. She had given them something to use against them. Vilain's lips curled up slightly and Hector looked over his shoulder in her direction. Trying to get the attention off of her, Lee quickly bent down and handed the case to Hector. He looked quickly at his daughter and the young sniper and gave them a reassuring look before walking back to the group. "You two are going to be alright."

Billy and Sky both nodded slightly.

"Respect is everything," Vilain said, almost as if he was teaching a lesson. "Without respect we're just people; common shitty people."

"I'm sorry sir," Billy apologized again.

"It's not your fault," the Italian assured before looking up at the Sang leader. "Now what?"

"We're both fighting men and I respect that. And fighting men, they don't deserve to be killed like sheep," he drawled on, swinging Barney's knife through the air almost as if he were bored. "But respect must be taught. Lie down with your face on the ground until we leave." When none of the Expendables moved, Vilain snapped his fingers and immediately Hector had a knife underneath Sky's chin. They all tensed. "Don't challenge me."

"Get down," Barney ordered, already lowering himself down. He kept his eyes up until he saw that the knife was removed from his goddaughter's neck before he lowered his gaze. The others followed suit—Lee dropping down immediately, while the others went slowly to make sure no one did anything shifty.

The sound of a helicopter approaching caught Sky's attention as Vilain walked back to them and gestured to the guards holding them. "Up," he ordered.

Just as Sky was on her feet she was kicked in the stomach by Hector. The air rushed out of her lungs and she doubled over, falling back onto her knees. She heard Billy cursing the man and struggling, but it was when she felt the man's lips right by her ear that she tensed. "You can thank your _father_ for that," he hissed before hoisting her up and to her feet once again. She caught Billy's worried glance on her face and she gave him a nod, showing that she was alright.

Once he saw that she was okay, he turned his attention to Vilain and glared openly at the man. The leader of the Sangs looked up at the sniper with a raised eyebrow as the helicopter landed, kicking up dust and creating a wind in the area. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, I'm not!"

"You should be." Vilain tossed the knife over to Hector who held it in position over Billy's heart. Sky's eyes widened in horror, as the next few seconds passed painfully slow. She saw Vilain tense his leg. She saw him as he reeled it back. And her heart stopped as he roundhouse kicked the hilt of the blade, driving it through the sniper's heart.

The world stopped.

"NOO!"

Billy grimaced in pain as he collapsed to the ground, the hilt still sticking out of his chest. She felt tears flow from her eyes as she tried to struggle. She was held tightly until Vilain pulled the knife out of Billy's chest and walked away. The second she was released she dropped to her knees beside him and held her hands on his chest, watching as he coughed and sputtered, shaking violently. "No, no, no, no, Billy, c'mon, you're going to be okay. Y-You've got to be okay," she muttered, pressing hard into his injury.

"I-I'm dying."

"Billy what do I do? Tell me what to do?" She begged as she heard the others shouting and running towards them. Billy lifted up his arm shakily and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her down weakly so he could press one last kiss to her lips. When his hand fell off of her neck and when she stopped feeling his chest rising and falling under her shaking fingers, she removed her lips from his and looked down at his face, seeing his eyes closed and his lips covered in the blood that had coated her own lips. She felt like a gaping hole formed inside of her chest and like floodgates breaking, she started sobbing and crying violently, gripping onto the edge of his shirt and shaking him in vain.

Arms wrapped around her and pulled her away and she could hear her father's voice muttering in her ear. She couldn't understand anything that he was saying. And she couldn't hear what was going on around her. All she knew was that Billy was dead. Sadness and guilt merged together as her mind immediately went back to the night before when she'd broken up with him just because he wanted a different, safer life. And the last thing that he'd wanted was a kiss from her before he died. She latched onto her father tighter as the hole in her chest grew wider and sobbed into his shirt. She had no idea how long she stayed in her father's grasp, just allowing him to rock her back and forth. But eventually she was able to hear her father's words.

"…take care of him. Right now, we can't keep crying okay? I know how much it hurts, but right now you need to take that pain and use it."

Her sobs started to quiet down as she tried to comprehend and internalize what he was saying. It was something he had told her since she was a child. Every time she woke up in the middle of the night crying from memories of her childhood, he told her to use her pain. She had to use it to push through. She had to use it to get stronger. She had to use it to make things right. It was their burden as mercenaries. People died in their line of work; people they cared about and they had to move on, at least for the moment, in order to complete their mission. The hole in her chest started to close little by little as she calmed her breathing before it was replaced by a raging fire. The Sangs would pay for what they did. They'd see to it.

Finally calming her breathing she pulled away from her father and looked up into his eyes. She saw the concern, the sadness, the anger burning behind his hazel eyes and she nodded once, showing him that she was good. She was ready to fight again. She looked around and saw that the other Expendables had made a shallow grave of rocks for Billy and they were going about burying the sniper as Maggie stood off to the side, feeling like an outsider in the whole proceeding.

Sky tried pushing herself up to a standing position, but her injuries chose that moment to make themselves known once again. When she was about to buckle and fall her dad grabbed her and held her up, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her steady. She watched wordlessly as they finished burying the far too young sniper. Once the task was done Barney stalked over to look at Maggie.

"I am so sorry," she said immediately, keeping her gaze down.

"I believe you," he replied, prompting her to look up. "What was in that case?"

"…a computer; blueprints to a mine."

"A mine… what mine?" Barney shouted, his emotions starting to get to him.

Maggie inhaled deeply before explaining loud enough for the entire group. "The Russians stored nearly five tons of weapons grade plutonium. The mine was abandoned after the Cold War. No one knows it's there. The blueprints show where the plutonium is stored. We were to stop it before it got into the wrong hands."

"Guess that didn't happen, did it?" Lee piped up, his voice serving to ground Sky further as she absorbed the information that Maggie was giving them. "This kid died so some dirt-bag could make bombs."

"I'm so sorry," Maggie said again.

Barney shook his head. "Not as sorry as I am. Why is it that the one of us that wants to live the most, that deserves to live the most, dies? And the rest of us that deserve to die keep on living. What's the message in that?"

"What's the plan?" Lee asked after a few seconds.

"Track em, find em, kill em."

Sky looked down at the makeshift grave that held her teammate, her former boyfriend, and her friend. She felt her throat tighten as if tears were going to fall but she forced them back before looking up at her Godfather, nodding in determination, letting the fire in her chest keep her going.

"I like that plan."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Gasak Mountains, Albania_

_January 8__th__, 2013_

Sky stared straight up trying not to flinch as Gunnar shifted the ice on her cheek while her stitches stung anytime the bag touched it. The Expendables had wasted no time in gathering up Sky's M-16, Beretta, and Billy's sniper rifle from where they were tossed by the Sangs before scrounging around whatever other weapons were around and heading back to the plane. The second they had boarded Barney made a beeline for the cockpit, prepping everything for take-off while Lee had passed Sky over to the others, asking them to take care of her injuries. After cleaning up the blood that had dried onto her face, Toll had stitched up her eye and put ice in a bag to reduce the swelling in her cheek. They couldn't do much for the cut inside her cheek, but they tried to clean it the best they could.

And after Maggie had reminded the group that she had taken a few shots to the stomach, she'd been forced to pull off her shirt to show the dark bruises marring her torso. Caesar had tapped her up while Toll filled another bag of ice before she ended up in her current position, lying with her head in Gunnar's lap as he held the icepack to her cheek while she held another bag of ice to her ribs.

"Be honest," Sky said, trying to get accustom to her awkward breathing because of the tape. Immediately Gunnar removed the ice so he could see her face completely, his undivided attention on her. She gave a half smile—the only thing she could manage at the point. "I look like shit, don't I?"

Gunnar chuckled a bit before Toll and Caesar joined in, with Maggie smiling slightly as she continued her job of tracking the computer. Sky gave a slightly wider smile, trying to dull the pain she felt both physically and emotionally by remembering that she still had the men around her. "You look badass," Gunnar assured with a wink before placing the ice pack back onto her cheek and running his other hand over her hair.

Lee looked back into the cabin before looking forward, pulling his headphones back onto his ears so that he could talk to Barney without the others hearing. "She's gonna be alright."

"She's strong. She'll be fine."

"I'm gonna kill him," Lee assured.

Barney raised an eyebrow. "Which him?"

"Hector."

"Good, cause if you were gonna say the head honcho, we were going to have problems," Barney hissed. "That bastard killed the kid with _my _knife. And I'm going to return the favor."

_"__CZ-4192, requesting response immediately."_

"Who is this bozo?" Lee frowned as he reached up to flip on the communications switch. "

_"__CZ-4192 this is a secure wave, do you read?"_

"What's this about?" Lee asked.

_"__What's taking so long, Barney Ross?"_ Church's voice filled their ears. _"__This should've been a walk in the park for you guys. Where's the case?"_

"Don't have it," Barney replied.

_"__I warned you what would happen to you mutts if you pulled this shit again."_

The Italian ground his teeth, his anger starting to rise again. "A good man died trying to get that case."

There was a pause. _"__I'm sorry about that."_

"Oh yeah?"

_"__Yeah, as a matter of fact I am. But this sort of situation comes with the territory, wouldn't you say?"_

"So does payback," Barney retorted. "You know Church you're the kind of guy that pulls the strings and everyone else does your dirty work because you never have the guts to do it yourself. We're done," he hissed before cutting off communications. Barney gripped the controls tighter and breathed deeply trying to calm himself before he heard Maggie run up into the cabin.

"Something's happening."

"What?" Lee asked, looking over his shoulder to the woman.

"The transmission stopped," she explained. "They're underground."

Barney nodded and looked to the field they'd been flying over. "I'm putting her down right here. Go sit down and tell the others Maggie."

Without hesitation she ran back to do her task as Barney guided the large plane to the ground in an easy landing. As soon as they were grounded, Barney steered the plane near a small barn and farmhouse. He noticed that the barn was thankfully large enough for their plane and guided it inside before he cut off all the engines and went to the back to gear up. Lee by-passed him and immediately walked over to Sky and Gunnar, checking his daughter over quickly before he and the blonde helped her up into a seated position and handed her shirts back to her so she could pull them on.

"Caesar, Toll, and Lee, there's a truck by the farmhouse. Go see if it's working and if it's not, get it working," Barney ordered. The heavy weapons specialist and demolitions expert immediately nodded and hustled off the plane while Lee kissed Sky's forehead and whispered something else to her before he walked off the plane, following the others. "Baby-Face, you good?"

"I'm good," Sky assured, nodding and standing up on her own, beginning to strap her spare gear onto herself. Gunnar busied himself with helping her, looking for her spare magazines and her knives.

Knowing she was in good hands, Barney looked to Maggie, motioning for her to follow him. "Gunnar, Sky, the second you're done meet us outside. We can't waste a second."

"Got it," Gunnar assured just as he produced a ski hat from out of nowhere and handed it to the girl.

The Italian exited the plane with Maggie following behind and noticed Caesar and Toll rolling tires past them and over to the truck that Lee was trying to fix. Seeing that everything was under control, he started scanning the area, making sure that they weren't attacked or ambushed. After a few minutes, Sky and Gunnar appeared from the plane before they two hopped onto the back of the truck. They were the first ones to notice the chickens on the back and had taken it upon themselves to wrangle the animals and get them off the truck with Maggie hopping in and offering assistance to pull the back cover on properly.

"C'mon let's hustle, hustle! We gotta move!" Barney said, walking over to the front of the truck where Lee was halfway hanging out the engine, working on something with a wrench. "C'mon Christmas, do you even know what you're doing?"

"Five minutes! Don't get your knickers in a twist!"

True to his word, Lee managed to get the truck up and running in five minutes and the cover was situated over the back as it was supposed to be. Barney hopped into the driver's seat with Lee riding shotgun and Maggie squished in between them while everyone else piled into the back in silence as the Italian drove them onto the highway, heading in the direction of the first town advertised. It was dark before they entered the town and it took a few more minutes before they found the only populated area by a bar.

"Another transport truck," Barney pointed out the vehicle parked just by the entrance to the bar. "It could be one of theirs. Let's check this place out." The Italian parked the car and noticed that Lee was loading his handgun. "No shooting."

Lee shared a look with Barney. "Classics?"

"Classics."

The two men pulled out their brass knuckles and secured them on their fingers, with Lee holding them up to show his partner. "I've been dying to use these."

"We'll beat the truth out of them," Barney agreed. "Maggie, tell the others to wait in the truck."

Maggie looked unimpressed by their plan but nodded. "Okay."

The second the two men got out, Maggie got out of the vehicle and walked around to the back, hopping in with the others. Immediately all eyes landed on her as she reached into her bag to pull out a small black case. "What's going on?" Gunnar asked.

"Barney and Lee are going to interrogate. I'm going to offer my assistance. They wanted you to wait here."

With that the woman was gone.

"How you holding up?" Caesar asked, looking towards the brunette girl next to him as they all piled off the truck, walking around towards the front so they had a bit more of an idea what was going on around them.

Sky gave him a half smile and nodded. "My ribs hurt, my cheek hurts, and my forehead hurts. But I'm still in for a good fight."

"Good to hear," Toll smiled, reaching over to grab her hand, giving it a little squeeze. "But how are you holding up with everything?"

Billy's face appeared in her mind and she clenched her jaw tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, trying to get a grip on her emotions before she opened her eyes and nodded to Toll, squeezing his hand back. "I'll survive."

"We're all here for you."

"Thanks guys…" she said, looking around at the three men. "I really appreciate it. I love you guys."

"And we love you too," Gunnar assured with a wide smile.

The door to the bar opened and their three missing members exited, with Barney pointing to the second transport truck. "Christmas I need you to hotwire that truck and go back to the plane to get the guns."

"Why me?" Lee asked, obviously not pleased with his task. "Why don't you get one of those cheese-heads to do it?" He asked, gesturing towards the three men standing with his daughter.

"Stop complaining," Barney retorted.

Lee held up his brass knuckles. "You know, I should bounce one of these off _your_ skull. Watch out for Sky!"

"You say that as if we weren't going to," the Italian fired back as Lee blew a kiss to his daughter and went over to the second transport truck while Maggie and Barney met up with the others.

"Cheese-heads," Toll mocked with an eye roll.

Quickly they all piled into the vehicle again in their same spots before Barney took off again, driving them towards the location the man had given them after Maggie's _inventive_ interrogation methods. They drove for a few hours through the night with the others sleeping in the back while Barney and Maggie sat up front. The sun was up again, lighting the way along the roads.

"They call themselves Sangs," Maggie spoke up after a long stretch of silence. "They say they control everything East of the mountains. Robbery, kidnapping, assassinations… basically a cartel for hire."

"How do you know the language?" Barney asked curiously.

"Easy, put it together. It's a cross between Ukraine and Bulgarian dialect. Impressed?"

"A little," Barney admitted before pulling out his walkie-talkie. "Christmas."

_"__What?!"_

Barney frowned. "Why are you yelling?"

_"__Because you gave me the shit job, that's why. I'm gonna shoot you in the face when I see ya." _

"Where are you?" Barney asked knowing that he didn't need to take the threat literally.

_"__At the sixty-year old death trap you call a plane."_

"Well, what's taking so long?"

_"__Cause there's bridges out, sign's missing; I've been driving these dirt roads for the last seven hours!"_

"You done complaining?"

_"__Thanks for the sympathy."_

Barney put the device down and continued to drive, shaking his head. He followed the roads and signs to what looked like a small abandoned military site. As they drove through, Caesar, Gunnar, Toll and Sky were all sitting towards the back, trying to get some idea where they were before they saw large banners hanging from the metal pole structures that lead into the town that held random drawings. They passed by a building that said 'NY Taxi' on it and Caesar frowned while Gunnar pursed his lips, trying to understand it.

"You guys are seeing this right? I didn't get a concussion did I?" Sky asked, looking around at the three men.

"No, we see it," Toll assured.

Caesar shook his head. "This is weird."

They passed by shops and storefronts that looked like NYPD and stores you'd find in New York and Gunnar laughed. "Looks like home."

Sky smiled and rolled her eyes before walking over to the end of the truck nearest the cabin and hit the wall slightly. "You guys know what the hell this place is?" She called through the cloth screen.

"I believe it's an old Soviet military base, probably used in the eighties; Cold War. They most likely staged maneuvers and practiced attacks against the US here," Maggie spoke up loudly so the others all heard.

"Is there anything you _don't _know?"

Sky laughed at Barney before walking back to sit with the others. They drove along for another few minutes before Barney parked the truck and they all piled out, surveying the area. They walked by a traffic light and Caesar's eyes immediately landed on the store nearest them. "Great, exactly what I need; fifty year old pizza."

"We'll bed down here for the night," Barney ordered, gesturing to the pizza shop. "We need to wait for Christmas to catch up with us. This is as good a spot as any."

"Man, now I've got a craving for garlic knots," Sky muttered as she followed behind Caesar as he kicked the door in to the pizzeria. They immediately covered their nose at the old smell of the place and the dust flying through the air.

"Home sweet home," Caesar muttered sarcastically as he moved to the closest table and set down his pack. The others filled in behind with Barney coming in last to shut the door behind them. Toll placed his stuff near the jukebox and Maggie settled into one of the booths. Sky set her stuff down by one of the columns in the room and Gunnar tossed his stuff by hers a few seconds later, having taken it upon himself to play 'guardian' to Sky with Lee gone. After all, he'd done it plenty of times when Sky and Jake were smaller and he knew that any one of the guys would do it for his son. Plus he saw the girl as the daughter he never had, so he intended to watch her like a hawk. Barney set his stuff down in a booth not too far from Sky and Gunnar and in an area that he could see all the others.

Wordlessly they all went about prepping for the night, clearing out their area as best they could so it was passable and Caesar had taken up the task of making food for himself and Sky while everyone else decided to fend for themselves using their MRE's. He had rigatoni and a small wooden fire from chairs that he had broken that he had to work with, but he made it work. While he was making his culinary magic, Maggie and Sky had searched the shop and found old working lanterns to place on the tables to give them all some light.

It was dark around the time they had all settled down. Maggie was in her booth, splitting her attention between listening to the group and tracking the computer. Gunnar and Toll were seated at the bar eating with Sky seated _on_ the bar, sitting cross-legged behind the two men, eating from the cup of food that Caesar had given her—which was way better than the MRE's the others were eating—while Barney smoked a cigar by the stairs, having already finished eating.

"This tastes like shit," Toll muttered, having eaten a spoonful of his meal. "How's yours?" He asked, looking towards his partner who was still stirring his cooking pot, smiling.

"Can't complain about rigatoni," Caesar said. "Plan ahead, fellas. That's all I gotta say. Ya know… what if you knew you were going to die tomorrow? What would your last meal be? One choice."

"One choice?" Toll asked.

"It'd probably be cereal for you, huh?" Caesar guessed.

"What the hell's wrong with cereal, huh?"

Gunnar shrugged. "It's cliché."

"Ya gotta be original," the heavy weapons specialist said shaking his head. "If you were an original, _broad_ thinking man, you'd probably come up with some special cereal, like Ear-O's. You know, just like your ear. Pour some milk on them suckers and just lay there and you don't hear shit."

Toll glared. "For the record, my hearing is twenty-twenty."

Giving up on his partner, the large man turned to their leader. "Barney."

"Doughnuts, they're the food that kills you."

"…that's deep man."

Barney laughed.

"Baby-Face?" He asked, looking over to the girl perched on top of the counter.

Sky paused with her spoon in her mouth, thinking her answer over carefully. After a few seconds thought she shrugged and took another spoonful from her cup. "I love food, I can't really decide."

"You gotta have _some_ idea," Caesar encouraged.

"I'm torn between a burger, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans, or _arroz dulce_," she admitted with a shrug.

Barney smiled and shook his head. "You're picking some hearty meals there for someone so small."

Sky smirked.

Caesar smiled and looked to their guest Expendable in her booth. "Maggie?"

"Crispy aromatic duck with plum sauce… very sexy," she said with a smile on her face before she looked up to Barney with a mischievous look on her face. "But I like Italian too."

The Italian looked embarrassed by the statement.

"I'm starting to think Italian is overrated," the heavy weapons specialist muttered, causing the others to all laugh.

"Hey, what about me?" Gunnar complained, wanting to share his preferred last meal. "My favorite Swedish dinner would be… baby seal and whale ass… in the summer," he admitted. Sky wrinkled her nose in disgust a bit. She loved Gunnar, but didn't like his taste in food. She was just glad Jake never adopted his dad's tastes. She scooped up the last remaining portion of her food and shoved it into her mouth as Gunnar continued speaking, his gaze on Maggie. "But I'd really _die_ for some Chinese."

Sky started choking on her food, banging on her knee and grabbing onto Toll's arm. Without hesitation the man handed her a bottle of water and tried to fight back his own smile as she washed down the food and averted the near disaster.

Barney looked back and forth between Gunnar and Maggie, spotting the unimpressed look on the woman's face and looking towards the Swedish man in amusement. "Then you're going to starve to death."

Everyone started breaking into laughter, and Sky nearly spit out the water that had been her saving grace. Once she had managed to avoid choking on the water she leaned forward and squeezed Gunnar's shoulder lightly. "Laying it on a bit too thick there," she advised trying to downgrade her own chuckles. He laughed in response.

"Alright, sweet dreams," Barney ordered, grabbing a cup of water.

"Barney, man, I'm not done eating yet!" Caesar complained. The Italian threw the water onto the fire making the room instantly darker. The heavy weapons specialist continued to whine as he tried to wolf down the rest of his food in record time so he could wash his supplies and put them away as the others all started moving towards their designated sleeping spots. Barney sat up in one of the booths, still puffing on his cigar, looking as if he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, despite what he said. Maggie had walked up to the top of the stairs—the spot she had claimed after deciding the booth wouldn't do her any good. Toll had reached back to pick Sky up and off the counter before he started lounging out on the floor while she and Gunnar walked over to the columns and stretched out, trying to find a comfortable position on the hardwood floors.

"Get some rest, Baby-Face," Gunnar said as he stopped fidgeting, ending up lying down on his back.

Sky was curled up on her right side beside the blonde, since the left side of her face was full of fresh cuts and injuries that she _didn't_ want to get any dirt or dust in. She knew her side was going to hurt her in the morning, but at the moment she couldn't be brought to care. With nothing left to occupy her mind, her thoughts went back to Billy. She replayed every memory she had with the young sniper, good and bad. But the ones that stood out most in her mind was the night she had broken up with him, and when he had died in her arms. She felt horrible and guilty. She felt like she was off balanced in some way. She wished her father were there. She wished Jake were there. She wished that her family could help take away the pain and the memories, but she knew they couldn't. They could only just dull the pain.

"I miss my dad," she whispered to Gunnar.

"He'll be back tomorrow."

"I miss Jake."

"I miss him too, Sky. I miss him a lot."

One stray tear, the only tear that she allowed to fall, travelled from her eye and across her nose before landing on the ground. "I miss Billy."

Silently Gunnar reached over and grabbed one of her hands in his, giving it a squeeze. She tried evening her breathing and smiled sadly as she squeezed his hand back. He didn't pull away from her and he didn't try to ask her any more information. He just kept his hand in his, giving her a small comfort. The warmth of his hand made her feel safe until her dad would show up and she felt her exhaustion take over before she fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Gasak Mountains, Albania_

_January 10__th__, 2013_

It was Gunnar's snoring that ended up waking Sky up the next morning. She hadn't heard a thing throughout the night, but when she started shifting around in her sleep she finally heard it. She blinked her eyes open and looked around to see she still had Gunnar's hand in hers and that all the others were up and going about different tasks. Toll was messing with the jukebox trying to get it to work, Caesar was drinking his coffee and Maggie and Barney were going over a map, laying out plans. She knew it was probably time she got up, but she just closed her eyes and tried to get some more sleep. The snoring thwarted her effort.

"I swear to God if he doesn't stop snoring, I'm gonna shot him," she heard Barney say loudly, followed up with an aggravated 'Gunnar!'

The blonde abruptly stopped and sat up slightly, blinking his eyes to see what it was that woke him up. "You rang?"

Sky laughed in amusement before Gunnar groaned and reached into his backpack for a breakfast cookie, opening it up and biting into it, immediately grimacing at the flavor. Instead of trying to fall asleep again, Sky just stayed on the ground and watched the group, knowing that the second she got up her entire right side would be sore or numb; probably both. "I know this is a dumb question," Toll started, pausing in his annoyed jabbing at the jukebox to look up at his partner. "Do you have any more of that coffee?"

"Pot only makes one cup."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Alright listen up," Barney said loudly, catching their attention. "The guy said the congregation of Sangs was probably in this area, concentrated east. So that's where we're going. We're out of here in ten minutes. Get ready, do what you gotta do."

Sky groaned and let go of Gunnar's hand for the first time, rolling onto her back and immediately wincing at the fact that her right shoulder, hip and ribs were all sore from lying out on the hard floor all night. She slowly sat up and made her way to a standing position, stretching her back and rolling her neck as Caesar walked out to take the final few sips of his coffee before dumping the rest. "I hate sleeping on the floor," Sky muttered.

"Houston, we have a problem," Caesar's voice caught their attention as he walked back in before diving onto the ground. "Down!"

Immediately Barney dove to the ground, tackling Maggie with her, and Toll and Sky dropped down to the floor as gunshots started ringing out, hitting the building, going through windows, thin doors and parts of the wall. One of the bullets hit the jukebox, springing it back to life as it played an upbeat song. Sky wanted to roll her eyes at the song playing during the shootout, but trying not to die was her number one priority at the moment. She looked up and saw her M-16 by hers and Gunnar's stuff. The man had scrambled up into a kneeling position with his back pressed to the column and an M-16 in his hands before he looked her way and waved her over.

A glass shattered just above her and she decided to move at that moment. She rolled like a log on the ground, hoping that she wouldn't get shot before she made it within arm's distance. He grabbed her leg and dragged her the rest of the way over, hoisting her up so she was covered behind the column and handed her weapon to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good!" She assured, dragging her bag over to grab her knives and shove them into her boots again.

"We gotta get outta here!" Barney shouted. "Separate exits! Sky stay with me!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Caesar ordered as he and Toll jumped up to start running for one of the side exits. Gunnar quickly shot up and cut in front of them, leading them out while Sky watched for Barney and Maggie. The second she saw them jump up and start running for the back door she took off towards them, making sure her weapon was prepared to fire at a moment's notice. Barney stepped out of the door first while the Sangs were distracted by the others, and he fired at the men while Sky moved past him so she was on the bottom step. She had a clear shot of them and sprayed her bullets at a small cluster, immediately causing the five men she was aiming at to hit the ground. But that still left a hell of a lot more. The Sangs turned their fire their way and quickly she felt Barney's arm on her shoulder, pushing her in the direction of a parked car right by the stairs, she ducked down and felt Maggie and Barney fall down beside her just as the bullets started pinging off the yellow vehicle.

Barney peered out and shot at a man who was approaching, followed closely by Maggie and Sky who both opened fire. "Save your ammo," he advised both women before he grabbed Maggie's hand and touched Sky's back with the butt of his gun lightly, gesturing forward to car parked across the street for them, since their current cover wasn't going to be much use for long. "Baby-Face, go!" Sky immediately shot off, turning forward and slowing her run to fire at the enemies at the end of the street as Barney and Maggie made it to the car before she sprinted over to them and ducked behind the car just as more bullets pinged their way.

A ringing sound caught Barney's attention as he scrambled for the walkie-talkie in his pocket as Maggie and Sky kept watch, making sure that no other soldiers approached. "Where the hell are you?" Barney immediately demanded as he grabbed the communications device.

_"__I'm almost there,"_ Lee's voice came out of the small box before another few bullets flew their way. Sky ducked back down and tried to catch her breath, mentally trying to calculate how much ammo she had left. _"__What's going on? Are those shots?!"_

"Yeah," Barney announced, lifting up slightly to shoot another man down before lowering back to cover.

_"__What's happening?"_

"The Sangs have us pinned down," the Italian said as Sky stood up to start firing again at another cluster of men. Maggie stood up and shot a couple before both woman crouched back down, sharing a concerned look. There were way too many men.

_"__Can you hold them off?"_

"Yeah, maybe with a tank!" Barney retorted.

The sound of a motor and crunching metal caught their attention before from around the corner of the street the Sangs had taken, a tank rolled into view, turning so it was driving towards the Expendables. Sky glared at her godfather. "You _had_ to jinx it."

"Aw shit."

_"__What?"_

"They got a tank," he muttered before looking to the two women at his side. "C'mon, let's move!" Barney stood up and immediately started firing while Sky and Maggie sprinted towards the closest car, the two women ducking down to fire to allow Barney to catch up with them before they ducked down again. The tank fired in the direction of the others and Sky's heart jumped into her throat. She hoped the others were okay. She didn't have much time to think about it, however, seeing as the tank was now swinging their way. "Run!" Barney shouted, grabbing Maggie's arm and yanking her to her feet while Sky just took off, knowing that with Barney's attention on Maggie—since he didn't know how she would react in a combat situation—she had to follow his orders to the letter. She heard an explosion and heat on her back before she ducked behind the corner of the closest building with Barney and Maggie ducking down beside her before another explosion sounded right behind them, shaking the structure they were using for cover.

"I'm out!" Maggie announced, looking at her gun.

Sky dropped her magazine to see how many bullets she had left. "I've got less than half a clip before I'm down to knives!"

"One left…" Barney muttered, sharing a look with his Goddaughter. She could immediately tell what he planned on doing by the expression on his face and she nodded. He nodded back before shrugging. "Why not?"

In unison the two shot up and stepped out of cover, firing the last of their ammo at the three men approaching. Even when they were empty, however, bullets kept firing and soon men started dropping like flies. Barney blinked before looking at his gun—seeing that he _was_ out of ammo—before he looked to Sky, wondering if it was her. She, however, had a confused look on her face and was pulling at her trigger repeatedly, only to hear a _click._ Maggie stepped out from hiding and watched with surprise on her face, while Sky looked around, trying to find the source of the shooting. "Um… what's going on?" Sky asked in confusion, looking to her Godfather as the last of the Sangs dropped before a rocket was shot into the tank, destroying it. "Okay seriously what the hell?"

"Hey, who did that?!" Caesar's voice called out in confusion, from around the corner.

"I didn't do that shit!" Toll's voice followed.

"Not me, I'm out!" Gunnar shouted.

Knowing that they were safe for the moment, Barney, Maggie, and Sky walked down the street, surveying the damage as they met up with the others who were walking towards them, unharmed. "What just happened?" Caesar asked with his arms opened.

"Somebody got a little carried away," Barney shrugged, just as confused.

"Looks that way."

"Where are they shooters?" Gunnar asked.

Barney shook his head, looking around at the rooftops. "I don't know, but if they wanted us dead, we'd be dead."

"Barney," Maggie spoke up, catching the Italian's attention. She inclined her head to something behind them, before the whole group turned, spotting a single man walking towards them with weapons strapped to his body, a hat on his head, and sunglasses on his face.

"Small world, isn't it Barney?" The man asked as he took off his sunglasses, coming to a stop in front of the group.

"Booker?" Barney asked in surprise. He looked around the group to see that everyone else was just as surprised as he was before he looked back to Booker. "Rumor has it you were dead."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Booker replied nonchalantly. "So how's life treating ya?"

"Been better. You did all this?"

"I fly solo, I thought you knew that."

"Yeah, I heard it, but I didn't buy it."

"Well now you do," Booker replied before looking around at the other mercenaries behind the Italian. "This your team?"

"Yeah," Barney said before pointing to the others in turn. "Gunnar, Toll Road, Hale Caesar, Maggie, and—"

"Skylar Christmas, I remember when you were just as tall as my knee," Booker completed, smiling at the young woman who suddenly looked very surprised. "I met you when you were younger. You probably don't remember it. It was a brief visit but I never forget a face." Sky still looked surprised and made a mental note to ask her dad and Barney when Booker had met her when she was a kid.

"Booker," Gunnar spoke up, sizing up the man. "You're the one people call the 'Lone Wolf'?"

"I've been called that, but I have mellowed."

Barney looked around at the pile of dead bodies scattered across the streets, on the steps of buildings and the still smoking tank behind them. "Not that much," he said before turning back around to Booker. "I heard another rumor that you were bitten by a king cobra?"

"Yeah, I was. But after five days of agonizing pain… the cobra died."

It was silent for a moment before Booker started laughing. Soon the entire team was breaking down into chuckles, relieved seeing that the man wasn't really serious. Booker moved forward to hug Barney before the Italian suggested the others go back to collect their stuff from the pizza shop while he talked with Booker. They all quickly agreed.

"Who _is_ that guy?" Sky asked the second they were away from the two men. "He seems a little off."

"Who cares? He saved our asses," Toll pointed out as they entered the pizzeria and began collecting their stuff. Sky frowned and dusted glass fragments off her bag before she tossed it over her shoulders. She replaced her empty magazine with a full one and felt infinitely better now that she had a loaded gun in her hands. Once she was done strapping her weapons back on—because until they were back state side she would _not_ be sleeping without at _least_ four weapons on her—she walked out of the shop with the others, her boots crunching over the glass littering the floor. They all walked over to the transpo truck and started to toss their stuff in—noticing that Booker was gone—before another truck drove into the area and quickly parked beside them, showing Lee at the wheel.

"What happened?" He demanded, looking up at Barney after he scanned the area to see Sky was alright.

"We're still alive."

"That's all a matter of opinion, what did I miss?" Lee demanded again.

"I'll tell you about it on the way," Barney assured before looking back at the others. "C'mon guys, let's unload these weapons."

Caesar shot Lee a look as he walked back towards the truck bed. "Looks like Christmas came _way_ late this year."

"Yeah, love you too," the Brit said sarcastically.

"Well, _I'm_ happy to see you," Maggie assured with a smile.

Lee grinned. "Finally somebody with class."

"But you _could've_ been a bit faster," Sky piped up as she climbed onto the back of the truck to help pass them to the others.

"Don't you start, Sky."

Sky just smirked.

* * *

It had taken around twenty minutes for all the weapons to be loaded onto their truck before Barney, Maggie, and Lee climbed into the front, with the Italian letting the others know that they were going to be heading to a village Booker had told him about. Apparently the villagers there were against the Sangs, so they might be some help. Sky was sprawled out on the bench in the truck with one of her legs in Toll's lap, pulling down at the ski hat on her head so it was more secure.

"So, this 'walk in the park' Church gave us seems to be more of a 'clusterfuck' to me," she muttered, looking at the men around her.

"Clusterfuck sounds like a good way to put it," Caesar agreed.

Before anyone else could agree the sound of gunshots and bullets on metal caused them all to jump up, on high alert before the truck stopped and Barney shouted for them to get out. They all jumped down and took shelter behind the truck, their weapons ready before they noticed that the bullets weren't hitting their truck, but the side of the building above them, while some were completely off altogether. They all looked on in confusion for a second before Caesar smiled and gestured to the wall, and everyone else smiled, the tension easing from their shoulders.

"They're missing us by a mile," Barney said before peeking out from the front of the truck to see a row of women with rifles in their hands, aiming their way.

"Put down guns!" One of them shouted.

"Not happening," Lee retorted before one of them fired accidentally, hitting two feet away from where Barney was standing on the ground. Lee grinned and turned back to look at the others. "The safest place is in front of their guns."

"We will shoot you!" Another woman shouted.

"No! Wait!" Maggie shouted back, nudging Sky to follow her lead before the two walked out from behind the truck with their guns down and hands in the air. Sky had no idea what Maggie's plan was, but these women had no idea how to shoot and they were supposedly against the Sangs anyway. "These men are here to help," she assured as the Expendables all walked out from behind the truck.

Slowly but surely the women came out from their spots around their homes and walked into view. There were women who looked frail, old, young, and inexperienced all holding weapons around them. Caesar smirked and looked towards Toll and Gunnar. "Even you two rejects could get lucky around here."

"You think?" Gunnar replied, playing along.

"I doubt it," Toll added on.

"Do you mind?" Barney asked, looking at the three men. They all silenced before he looked back to the woman in the front of the pack who looked to be their leader.

"Who you are?" She asked.

"We're Americans."

"Since when?" Lee retorted, referring to the obvious diverse nature of their group.

"Swedish," Gunnar piped up for himself.

Caesar spoke next. "Blackfoot."

"Chinese," Maggie added on.

"British and Puerto Rican," Sky said with a smile.

"Retards," Toll muttered, shaking his head.

Barney looked back to his entire team, wondering how he was the only mature one of the group. "Are you all done?"

"What you want?" The woman asked again.

"We're here to take care of the Sangs," Barney assured.

The women all started shifting around, sharing looks with one another and whispering to each other before their leader nodded. "Okay… come inside."

The Expendables all followed the women as they walked inside, their leader motioning for them to go to the back of the room near a bookcase. They did as they were told before the woman pushed back the bookcase and revealed a hidden entrance to a cellar before she turned on the light. Huddled inside the narrow hallway were well over twenty teenage boys, and from the sound of it, there were smaller children down in the actual cellar. "This is what we think you come for," the woman admitted, looking to Barney. "This is what we will die for."

"Let's find somewhere to talk."

* * *

"At first they said that there'd be good jobs, good money," the woman, Eva, started explaining. The Expendables and a small group of the women from the village were all in a small church, having moved to the area so they could talk away from the children. "Some went, but nobody come back. They come back for more. They say as soon as our men go to job the others come home… my husband goes. For a long time nothing. Then the Sangs come and take all of the rest of the men; force them to work in the mines, same in the next village and the next. They take my _sons_. Now all that is left are the very young and they will be back for them too, I know this."

"We all know this," another woman piped up with a hardened expression on her face.

"So we hide them… and we wait."

"Why don't you just move on?" Lee asked.

"This is our home. Our lives will be the last thing they take. Tell us why you're here now."

"We're tracking them," Barney answered.

Eva looked to them all hopefully. "Can't you stay and help? You saw the children! Soon they kill them all!"

"We have our own business," Barney replied, causing Sky to whip her head around towards the Italian in shock as the women all looked down. "I'm sorry. Let's go."

"Whoa, wait a second," Sky interrupted running forward to match pace with her father and godfather as they all headed towards the door. "You can't seriously be considering leaving them to fend for themselves. They won't last here much longer."

"I think they know that."

"And we're not going to stay and help?" Sky asked in shock, looking to her father only to see there was tension in his jaw. She cut in front of the two and stopped walking, halting the procession just a few feet away from the door. "They're trying to protect their _children_. Caesar, Gunnar, dad, you of _all_ people should understand that," she said looking seriously at the three fathers of the group before looking at the others. "And I know you're not heartless. Please, we've _got_ to do something."

"Sky's right," Lee agreed immediately, turning around so he was standing next to his daughter, an arm around her shoulder. "So what are we gonna do?"

Barney closed his eyes and sighed before he looked up at the two knife throwers and smiled. "You know, I've got a plan. And with your ego, Christmas, I'm sure you'll love it."

"My ego?" Lee asked before the group started walking towards the truck again, this time with a plan in mind to help the villagers. "What do you mean my ego?"

"You've got a big ego."

"You check _your_ ego out."

"Oh please, your ego is like the size of a dinosaurs'; it's huge."

* * *

For all intents and purposes, Barney's plan was a good plan. It was simple with a bit of the finesse that Sky had said that they needed to use more of. With an area as small as the village and the amount of people around, the plan should work without fail. Barney, Gunnar, Caesar and Toll were to be placed in strategic positions around the church, hidden from view until the fight started. Meanwhile, Lee and Maggie would be disguised as a priest and old woman respectively inside the church grounds to surprise the Sangs when they entered. And Sky's part of the plan was to lure all the Sangs into the church. She was to be disguised as one of the women of the village, which meant no gun, no M-16. It would be strictly knives and hand-to-hand if she got into any trouble.

Sky felt the small hand shaking in hers and she looked down to see the small boy she was walking around with. He had been the youngest son of one of the women who had bravely volunteered to help Sky, to be bait and help lure the Sangs in. They had a spot designated for him to run too—the safest spot in between Barney and Toll's areas—but he was just a small boy. He was scared. She crouched down in front of him—frowning at the awkward wrap dress she'd been forced into to make it look like she was a woman of the town—before she angled him so he was looking her way.

"Hey, everything's going to be alright, okay?" She said reassuringly smiling at the young boy. His lip quivered slightly and she held onto his shoulders, trying to figure out a way to comfort him. "What's your name?"

"Mateo," the boy said in a thick accent.

"Mateo? That's a nice name," she replied, looking into the boy's bright blue eyes. Her heart stopped for a second as Billy's face, _his_ blue eyes, appeared in her mind. She closed her eyes to ward off the memory before she opened her eyes and smiled again at the boy. "I'll protect you, Mateo. I promise."

Mateo blinked a few times before he nodded and wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a hug, obviously still scared. She hugged him back tightly and sucked in a deep breath. She needed to be able to protect this child, no matter what. The warning bell started to ring as shouts filled the air. She felt Mateo tense up in her arms before she pulled away and looked in his eyes seriously. "We're going to be okay. Let's go."

Sky grabbed his hand and started running in the direction of the church. She knew that the other women would point the Sangs in the direction of the church, saying that the kids were all there so she waited by the entrance to dirt path just fifty yards away from the church compound. Mateo's hand still shook in her hands and it grew worse the second that the Sangs came into view. _Show time,_ Sky thought to herself before she screamed loudly at the top of her lungs and started running with the young boy, heading towards the church. She made sure to push him along as she screamed and nearly tripped—partly for effect and mostly because of the dress she was forced to wear—before she let go of Mateo's hand to let him run into the small door at the side of the church before she crawled in after him.

"Go, run," she urged the boy as she ran into the center of the courtyard and ripped the bottom portion of her dress off, thankful for some movement. The small boy ran to his hiding spot and she caught the eyes of Caesar and Barney from her spot as she dropped to one knee, her hands in the air as she screamed and pretended to sob the second the Sangs kicked in the locked wooden door and stormed into the courtyard.

One of the men walked forward, shouting at her, demanding to know where the children were. She continued her theatrics as she reached for the knife in her boot with one hand before the man was close enough. In a split second she shot to her feet and stabbed the man in the throat before removing the knife and whirling the man around, using him as a human shield before she grabbed his weapon and started firing at the group behind him. Three men dropped before she dropped her meat shield and tossed her knife, striking a fifth in the heart. She heard shooting before more men crashed to the ground and she knew that the others were starting their part of the plan. Two men still managed to break through and ran towards her, but she elbowed one in the face and kicked his leg out before she connected a spinning heel kick to the second one's face. As he hit the ground she pulled a knife out and dropped to her knee, stabbing him in the chest before she whirled around to the other man who was still on his knees before she reached around with her knife and stabbed him in the heart. Once he stopped struggling she pulled her knife out and pushed him to the ground.

She looked around to make sure everything was all clear before she walked over to the others who were surveying the area. She was about to tell them that she took out hers before Barney shouted 'one more!' Everyone whirled around and started firing at the sole member of the Sangs and Sky winced as the man crashed to the ground looking like Swiss cheese. "Rest in pieces!" Barney shouted.

"A bit of an overkill, but alright," Sky muttered, pulling off the borrowed jacket and ripping off the rest of the dress she'd been given before her dad radioed in saying he'd taken care the rest of the men inside of the church. "Mateo! Mateo, it's safe, you can come out now!" She shouted, looking around for the boy. It took a few seconds before the small boy ran out from his hiding space and made a beeline for her. She crouched down to catch him in a hug and lifted him up, supporting him and petting his hair slightly as she felt him shake in her arms. Sky bounced him slightly as he cried a bit before looking over the child's shoulder to her Godfather. "Now we go after Vilain?"

Barney nodded. "Now we go after Vilain."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hey there everyone! I'm just letting you all know that after this chapter there is only one more before I move into the 'Losers' arc for this story! I'm really excited to work with the Losers movie because I absolutely loved it and it has a bit more of a lighter air than the Expendables movies so there's some comedy aspects I can work with! Though, I threw some Loser snips in here just for the hell of it and because we haven't seen enough of them yet! Hope you guys like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana _

_January 10__th__, 2013_

Jensen was absolutely beaming as he strolled down the street. He was pointedly ignoring Roque's complaints behind him. He had finally convinced the Losers to visit his home in New Orleans. After all, they'd been to Roque, Clay, and Cougar's apartments—on the days they were all too drunk to get back on base—and they'd gone to Pooch's house a bunch of times because Jolene was a phenomenal cook and always so hospitable. And now they were finally visiting his home and there was no way he was going to let Roque rain on his parade. Once they neared the sign that said 'Tool's', Jensen gained a slight skip to his step. "C'mon guys, the house is right there!" He pointed out enthusiastically, picking up the pace slightly.

"You lived in a tattoo shop?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup! There's a garage attached to the side too! Just wait until you see it!"

The others shared a look from behind the hacker's back before he all but burst through the front door, shouting. "Hey guys, I'm home!"

The Losers watched and waited as nothing happened before a man with greyish black hair, jeans, a pair of boots, and an open vest poked his head out of the backroom before he beamed upon seeing the blonde boy at the front door. "Well look who showed up! Don't just stand there Jake, come give me a hug!" Immediately, Jensen moved forward to hug the older man, a large smile on his face, while Cougar raised an eyebrow and looked at the others, wondering who the old man was. "Damn, you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you!"

"Thanks," Jensen grinned before gesturing towards the other four men huddled near the front door. "Hey, I want to introduce you to my team. Tool this is Pooch, Roque, Cougar, and Clay. Guys, this is my Uncle Tool."

Clay was the first one to move from the doorway to shake Tool's hand with a polite smile on his face. Compared to the last relative of Jensen's they met, Tool seemed far less likely to crush them if he felt the need. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you fellas, too," Tool smiled, shaking Roque, Cougar, and Pooch's hands before he jerked a thumb towards Jensen. "I'm glad you boys are keeping my nephew out of trouble."

"It's a hassle," Cougar piped up, earning a whine from the blonde and a laugh from the tattoo artist.

"I don't cause that much trouble!" Jensen pouted.

Tool smiled and patted his shoulder. "Tell that to your dad. Man I've got stories of you and Baby-Face causing trouble that could fill up a book. But anyway, what are you doing around here? I thought you were down in North Carolina."

"I decided to come down for a visit," he shrugged with a small grin. "I figured it was a good time to introduce the guys to my family."

"Sorry to say this Jake, but you picked a bad time," Tool replied with a slight frown, looking apologetic. "The others are out of town."

"Aw man, really?" Jensen asked, looking completely disappointed. He was looking forward to seeing his father and the other Expendables. And he was totally going to use the opportunity to introduce Cougar and Sky even though he was sure she would try to murder him for it, especially since she was still with Billy. "I was so hoping they'd be here! I'm starting to think they don't want to meet my team."

"Or they're avoiding you," Roque put in, earning a glare from the blonde.

"They just had some business to attend to Jake. They shouldn't be gone for too much longer if you wanna stick around a couple days."

"Thank you for the offer but we have to return back to base by tomorrow," Clay explained, shooting a look towards his comms tech that said the matter was non-negotiable.

"Well, then let me tell you what," Tool started off with a grin on his face, gesturing around towards the shop. "I don't want you boys to think of this as a wasted trip so how about some tattoos on the house? My schedule's cleared up for today and I'd be more than happy to get some ink on you boys."

"Wait really?" Pooch asked in surprise, sharing a look with the other three men who looked just as surprised as he did. Looking around the shop at some of the sample work it was obvious that this man was a fantastic artist. There was no way he was seriously just going to give them all free tattoos when he had talent like that. "You'd seriously give us free tattoos?"

Tool nodded with a large smile on his face, already moving towards his station to start setting it up. "Of course I would. You guys keep my nephew safe, so it's the least I can do. Anything you want, it's on the house."

Cougar immediately walked over to one of the walls, looking at designs while Clay grinned saying that he'd been meaning to get a few more tattoos. Roque shook Tool's hand again while Pooch looked at Jensen, said 'I love your uncle' and walked away to go look at more designs with Roque right at his heels. Jensen grinned at their reactions before walking over towards Tool's station, watching the man set up his tattoo gun. "Where are they?" He asked in a low tone, looking briefly over his shoulder to see that the others were distracted by the designs, talking over which ones they wanted.

"Albania," Tool answered without even looking up. "Some sort of retrieval mission. You heard anything from them the past couple days?"

Immediately Jensen frowned and looked towards his uncle with a concerned expression on his face. "No, I haven't, why?"

"It was a mission passed down by Church. Barney said it would take two days tops, but that was three days ago," he explained before shaking his head. "It's probably nothing to be worried about. That damn plane of Barney's is probably acting up again, but I didn't want to call just in case something was up."

"Do you think something could've happened?" Jensen asked in worry. "Should I try tracking them?"

"Nah, don't worry about it Jake. It's probably nothing like I said. I'm just getting to be a worrywart in my old age," Tool assured with a laugh as he pulled on a pair of gloves and gestured towards the seat in his station. "Alright, now let's get some ink in that skin of yours. You have any idea what you want?"

Jensen smiled, his thoughts immediately shifting from the Expendables. Tool was probably right. It was probably nothing. "Well… I _was _thinking about a design that could go on my other shoulder."

* * *

_Gasak Mountains, Albania_

_January 10th, 2013_

Crouching down in the tall grass along the mountain surrounding the mine, Barney and Lee peered through a pair of binoculars, while Maggie, and Sky waited to hear the verdict. Gunnar, Caesar, and Toll were still repelling down to their location. "I see about a dozen guards, light weapons… a couple badass fifty cals."

"Worse," Lee interrupted, spotting something in his binoculars. "They've got anti-tank devices. There's no way our trucks will get through that mine-field," he announced, looking around at the others who had made it to their area, still hooked up in their harnesses and gear. They all shared skeptical and concerned glances before Lee turned back to look at Barney. "I know this is a stupid question, but do you have any plans that _won't_ get us killed?"

"I got a few I'm thinking about," Barney retorted before pocketing his binoculars to look around at the others. "Back up the mountain and over. We've got to get back to the plane. Baby-Face go back up with Caesar. I don't want to have you freaking out on the gear again."

Sky's cheeks dusted pink as she remembered her slight mishap earlier. She had been first to repel down with Maggie, since they were the lightest of the group. And since they were the first ones to go down, they were unsure where they needed to have their footing. As she had been repelling down, she had stepped in a hole that had been unnoticeable and completely lost her footing. And with her fear of heights, it had quickly gone downhill… no pun intended. She had flailed out dramatically, trying to catch herself before Caesar and Gunnar caught her rope and jerked her to a stop. She had ended up hanging upside down with her leg tangled in the rope and her arms flailing around like a deranged piñata.

"It was an _accident_," she muttered in embarrassment even as she walked over to the heavy weapons specialist and climbed up onto his back like a Koala. The others all chuckled at her in amusement while she grumbled as they climbed back up the mountain and repelled down to where their trucks were waiting. Once they hit the ground, they climbed into the trucks to wait as Maggie, Lee, and Barney repelled back over.

When the three were back over, they piled into the front and took off. It took around two hours to make it back to the plane—with Lee grumbling the majority of the time because _Barney_ had no problems finding the roads they needed without the signs. "Everyone get dressed in your mission gear," Barney ordered before gesturing for Maggie and Lee to follow him over to the farm home right by the barn the plane was parked in. "We're going to discuss the plan."

"Will we get to know the plan?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow as she waited for the other men to pile on the plane.

"Eventually."

Sky rolled her eyes at the answer before she hopped into the plane, heading towards her seat to grab her duffel bag full of her mission clothes. She sat on the ground and began pulling her clothes out before she felt a hand on the top of her head. Blinking, she looked up and saw Gunnar standing above her before jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "We're gonna get changed outside to give you some privacy. Just holler at us when you're done."

"Okay, thanks," she smiled. She waited until the three men climbed off of the plane and shut the door before she started changing into her clothes. She pulled her ski hat off her head and then went through the painful process of pulling her pull-over and long sleeve off and over her head. Her ribs ached with the movement each time. She sucked in a deep breath when she managed to get the tops over her head before she bent down to reach for her black long-sleeve and pull it over her head. Once she finished with the top, getting her black pants was easier, even though her combat boots gave her a bit of problem. She strapped on her Kevlar and her weapons before she grabbed her brush, two hair-ties and a bottle of water from the supply area in the back.

Opening the door to the plane she hopped out, and immediately had to turn her back seeing as Gunnar and Caesar still didn't have pants or a shirt on while Toll only had on pants. "Really? And you say _women_ take a long time to get ready," she muttered, earning a chuckle from the three men.

"Who told you to come out here?" Caesar challenged with amusement in his voice.

"I need to get my hair in braids," she retorted, uncapping her water bottle and pouring it over her hair to wet it. She made sure her hair was all wet before she flipped her hair over and started brushing it out.

"Why do you need to wet your hair for that?" Toll asked in confusion.

"It's the only way to brush my hair and not get too many knots. It's the curse of curly hair."

"I think it looks nice," Gunnar piped up.

She smiled at the blonde's comment, but still didn't turn around, busying herself with putting her hair into her standard mission braids. By the time she was done, she turned around and saw that the others were done getting changed and moving towards the plane door. She followed quickly after them and got in her seat, pulling her ski-hat over her hair. Just after they were all seated, Barney and Lee entered the plane with Maggie. The latter two looked nervous, while Barney looked determined. "Alright everyone, here's the plan…"

* * *

"I hate this plan! I hate this plan! I hate this plan!"

Sky was largely ignored as she screamed her absolute disdain for the plan that Barney had cooked up as she sat strapped in her seat, her belts tightened as far as she could get them without becoming a hindrance to her breathing. Barney's brilliant plan had involved flying the plane towards the mines, shooting their large shells out the front to take out all the guards, and dropping two large barrels full of gunpowder with bombs on them. And while _that_ part of the plan didn't seem bad, the fact that Barney said there was a possibility of crashing _did_ seem that bad.

"Just keep calm, Baby-Face!" Gunnar encouraged.

"This is the stupidest shit I've ever heard!" Sky shouted, looking around at the others as she heard Barney shout that they were approaching the mine. "What kind of dumbass plan is _crashing?!"_

"The kind your Godfather cooked up!" Lee shouted as he ran out of the cockpit and jumped down into the firing area for the canon they had in the nose of the plane. "Ready to fire!" He shouted before Barney shouted out the order to fire. A large boom rocked the plane as it was shot out. Caesar and Gunnar unhooked themselves from their seatbelts and opened up the hatch of the plane, dropping the two gunpowder barrels on the road in front of the mine, causing another explosion while Lee fired out more shells.

Caesar quickly sealed the hatch once their job was done before he and Gunnar quickly sat back in their seats and strapped in. Lee jumped out of the canon area and ran back to the cockpit, strapping in. "Tighten up!" Caesar shouted, tightening his seatbelts.

"What's happening now?!" Maggie shouted, tightening her own belt.

"Chaos!" Toll retorted.

Sky tightened her belts further—breathing be damned—and quickly shot her hand out to grab onto Gunnar's hand while her other fisted in her straps. She felt the plane started diving lower and her stomach dropped.

"You're not doing what I think you're doing?!" Her father shouted and she leaned forward—against her better judgment—and saw that Barney was aiming the plane towards the opening in the mine. The opening that absolutely would _not_ be big enough to accommodate the entire wingspan of the plane.

"Yeah I am!" Barney retorted.

Her dad nodded. "Let's do it!"

The plane dropped lower and lower and Sky sat back, squeezing her eyes shut and Gunnar's hand tighter. "I fucking _hate _this plan!"

Her shout came just seconds before the crash. She jolted forward as soon as they hit the cement, and the sound of ripping metal filled the air. Bile rose up into her throat and she swallowed it down, clenching her jaw tightly as they fell forward, jerking them all around again as the belly of the plane hit the ground, scrapping against the inside of the mine. The tail ripped off, creating a gaping hole in the back of the plane. Sky screamed as electrical wires started to fizz out above their heads. She heard another scream and saw that Maggie had been ripped from her seatbelt and was rolling towards the end of the plane.

Gunnar's hand suddenly disappeared from her and she was surprised to see that he had shed his safety belt in order to run and grab Maggie before she flew out the back of the plane and dragged her back so she was sitting down on his other side. Sky quickly reclaimed Gunnar's hand the second he was within grasp before she heard metal creaking and snapping. She jerked forward slightly and saw that one of the metal pieces holding her straps in place had snapped, pulling off the wall completely and leaving only half a functioning seatbelt. Not wanting to experience what Maggie did, she pulled out a knife and used it to loop in the metal hook and stab it into the plane, anchoring herself slightly. After a few more seconds of dragging, they finally stopped.

"You're gonna need a new plane!" Lee shouted to Barney, up in the front before he looked towards the back of the cabin. "Everyone alright?"

"Good," Maggie announced, tossing Gunnar a grateful smile.

"We're still alive," Toll muttered, motioning to himself and Caesar.

"Baby-Face and I are good," Gunnar assured, just before Sky let go of her knife and quickly unbuckled herself. She pulled her hand out of Gunnar's and ran to the back of the plane before throwing up outside of the opening, holding onto a piece of jagged metal as she heaved, emptying the contents of her stomach. "Well… sorta," Gunnar amended.

"Look what you did to my daughter," Lee glared at Barney before getting up and walking over to his daughter, snagging a water bottle quickly on the way back. He placed his hand on Sky's back as she heaved a bit more, spitting. He rubbed her back in small circles before offering her the water bottle. "It's alright, we're safe. You don't have to be scared, I'm here."

Sky uncapped the water and poured it into her mouth so she could rinse it and spit it out. "I hate heights," she muttered before she rinsed her mouth again, putting a hand uneasily on her stomach. "And now I hate planes."

"C'mon let's move out!" Barney shouted, gathering up his weapons before he ran to the back of the plane—strategically avoiding the pile of vomit—in order to start surveying the area. The others were up and out of the plane following him within seconds. Gunnar stopped briefly to pat Sky's head lightly before he ran off after the others.

"You good?" Lee asked, not wanting to move until he was sure his daughter was alright.

Sky rinsed her mouth once more before swallowing a large gulp of water, getting a grip on the gun strapped to her chest. "I'm good. Let's go kick some ass."

"That's my girl," he said proudly, leaning forward to kiss her forehead before they both took off, quickly catching up to the others. They walked through the large mine—avoiding the debris that used to be apart of their plane, before they heard the sounds of scared shouts up ahead. They climbed up onto a platform, holding barrels underneath them in order to see a group of Sangs holding automatic rifles to a group of civilians who were all huddled together with their backs turned, not wanting to see their deaths coming.

Barney whistled to catch the Sangs attention before the Expendables opened fires, aiming at the mercenaries and shooting in tight clusters, making sure that none of the civilians got hit. Once the mercenaries were down, Maggie immediately jumped down to run through the mine, looking for the area that she knew the target was located. She noticed a crane holding up a piece of cement and her heart plummeted. "We're too late!" She shouted even as she ran towards the open hole in the floor.

"What?" Barney demanded as he and the others all dropped down to run up towards her, with the civilians surrounding them, wondering who their saviors were.

"The plutonium's gone!"

An explosion rocked the area and they all looked around in shock, seeing the pillars holding up the mine crumbling. "Run!" Barney shouted, motioning for the men of the village to start running. Immediately it was like a stampede heading down towards a lower level of the mine that had its own structure as the cement pillars started crashing down around them. The Expendables merged with the group, making sure that everyone was out, before the Italian entered, just as rocks crumbled around them, covering their exit.

"This can't be good," Sky muttered, looking up at the wall of rocks blocking them in front and the stairs that were now blocked behind them.

Barney sighed. "We're gonna be here a while."

* * *

'A while' ended up being half an hour. They had been stuck in the cave-in for half an hour with still nothing substantial changing in their situation. The men of the village had all taken up seats where they could on the floor while the Expendables sat together in their pairs. Barney was puffing at a cigar, playing with his skull lighter, leaning against one of the walls of the cave beside Lee who was toying around with one of his knives. Toll and Caesar were sitting close by, near the middle of the floor with Maggie not far away, helping to tend to some of the injured men. Sky was standing up, pacing the floor behind Gunnar, who was muttering something about chemicals. He was talking with the young girl behind him, bouncing ideas off of her, while she just frowned and replied anyway she could. She didn't really understand what he was talking about.

"Doesn't seem right," Toll muttered, looking at the rocks around them.

"Going out this chicken shit way?" Caesar guessed.

"Yeah, something like that."

"It ain't over yet, kids!" Gunnar announced enthusiastically, holding onto a pipe in one hand and pulling out his bowie knife with the other. "I've got a plan! Everybody calm down!" He said, walking over to one of the cave walls, studying it, while the others watched him skeptically. "Phosphate rock," he said with a smile, walking towards one of the walls to start scrapping the rock off of the wall and into the tube he held in his other hand.

"What's he doing?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.

Barney blew out a cloud of smoke. "Probably making a bomb."

"Are you serious?"

The Italian shrugged. "Ask him."

"What ya doing Gunnar?" The knife thrower called out to the Sweden.

"Making a bomb, you mind?"

Lee and Barney shared a look. "Maniac with brains."

"Scary."

"Phosphate rock has a density of 1.852 and a melting point of 44.2 centigrade," he rattled off as he walked over to Caesar and Toll. "Guys, I want some gunpowder, fast."

The two men didn't look convinced.

"Do it, the man's a chemical engineer, right?" Barney asked, looking to the tall blonde.

"And a full-ride scholar," Gunnar added in. "Pour it in the pipe," he ordered, tossing the pipe to the two men. He looked over his shoulder to the brunette girl. "Baby-Face, you got any alcohol on you?"

Sky raised an eyebrow. "You ask this because I'm so known for getting drunk?"

"Baby-Face," he said seriously.

She sighed dramatically and reached into her back pocket, pulling out a silver metal flask with a black cross design on it. "I want that back," she said as she tossed it over to him. He smiled in response.

Lee, however, was looking back and forth between the flask and his daughter in surprise and confusion. "Hold on there, why do you carry a flask with you?"

"You never know when you need to make a Molotov," Sky shrugged, before she grinned. "That and sometimes you guys are too much to deal with without a buzz going."

"I don't know whether to be proud or worried."

She smirked.

"You know, he might be onto something," Barney muttered, looking back towards Gunnar.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

"…probably not."

"You need some help with that?" Gunnar asked irritably, looking down at Caesar and Toll who still hadn't finished pouring gunpowder into the pipe. "Let's go!"

"Here, go blow yourself up," Caesar retorted, handing the pipe back over to the giant.

Gunnar quickly poured the contents of the flask into the pipe and took a little swig of it for himself. He blinked before looking over towards Sky with a raised eyebrow. "Tequila?"

"Jose Cuervo," she grinned.

The blond smiled slightly before, tossing the empty flask her way. He screwed on the lid to the pipe and pulled the cloth he'd be using to light the bomb up so it poked out the top. Once that was taken care of he turned his head so he was looking over to Barney. "Lighter?"

Barney tossed his lighter over to the man before echoing the statement that his goddaughter had made earlier. "I want that back."

"Okay, get back!" Gunnar shouted, lighting the piece of cloth with a maniacal laugh. "This is gonna be loud!"

No one moved with any sort of urgency.

They all stood up slowly and walked towards the opposite side of the cave so they were far away from where the pipe bomb Gunnar made was. He was busy leaning it against the side of the cave wall, while shouting for everyone to get back. "Get back! Alright… let's go!" He shouted, jogging over to the group so he was far enough away from his homemade bomb. "Turn around, unless you want your heads blown off!" He advised before looking to Toll and smiling. "You better cover your ears."

Toll glared.

Sky shrugged and did as she was told, turning her back to the bomb and covering her ears, while Gunnar did the same. Everyone else, however, didn't bother to turn around and instead watched the small pipe bomb. The fire disappeared into the pipe and soon the entire room rocked with a loud explosion. "Jesus Christ!" Barney shouted, whirling around quickly and covering his ears in surprise, while the others all shouted and did the same. Dust kicked up into the air and they heard rocks tumble around the area the bomb was placed. They all coughed and tried to wave at the air before they turned back around when the dust started settling. Right where the bomb was there was a small hole in the rock wall that looked like a small person could fit through, leading out towards an open tunnel.

"I'll be damned," Lee muttered.

"You did it, Gunnar!" Sky cheered.

Gunnar frowned slightly, looking at the hole. "It was smaller than I thought it would be."

"Who cares? It worked!" Toll shouted.

"In order to get out of here we'd need at least three more of those bombs," Gunnar answered, tilting his head to the side. "And unless Baby-Face carries around some more flasks, we're out of alcohol."

"Who here has booze?!" Caesar shouted loudly, trying to see if they could somehow pool some resources together.

Before anyone could answer, the room started to shake again, catching their attention. Cracks started forming in the wall that Gunnar had formed the small hole before a large piece of digging machinery broke through, creating a much larger hole for an escape. The Expendables covered their eyes as dust flew everywhere, before straining their eyes to see who it was that was driving. Trench poked his head out of the machine and looked to the mercenaries with a smile on his face and a cigar in between his teeth.

"I'm back."

Barney grinned. "How ya doing, Trench?"

"Better than you."

* * *

Breathing fresh air was a welcomed relief as they walked out of the mine and back into the outside world. The men of the villages filed out behind them, all cheering and shouting, trying to find family or friends. As they made it to the top of the hill, the women of the village, with Eva in the front, ran towards them. Eva beamed seeing that the men were free and hugged Barney quickly, muttering her thanks before racing off to find her family.

The Expendables all watched the scene of families reuniting from their spots just on a hill away from the villagers. Barney smiled at the scene before Trench walked up next to him. "We're even now, right?"

"Right," Barney agreed. "I'll be seeing you around, Trench. Thanks a lot."

"Relax, it's not over yet."

The Italian frowned. "What?"

"That's right," Trench retorted before a jeep pulled up to them. It stopped and Church climbed out from the passenger seat, moving over to stand near the other two men, while the rest of the Expendables watched in silence, observing the situation.

"How you doing, pal?" Church asked, looking to the Italian.

"I was doing pretty good Church. What are you doing here?"

"I heard that there's a party in town."

"Yeah, but it's my party."

Church looked to Trench. "Has he always been this selfish?"

"Always," the Austrian retorted.

"Thanks," Barney deadpanned.

"You're Church, right?"

The three men turned at the voice and saw Sky walking over to them, her eyes fixated on the bald man near her Godfather and Trench. Church raised an eyebrow at the girl, wondering why the hell she was there. "Who's this?" He asked, looking to Barney.

"She's a part of the team," Barney replied easily.

"A part of the team, huh?" Church asked, looking her over skeptically. "Girl looks like she should be on a fucking Abercrombie ad, not in the field. And you raised a stink about me sending Maggie with you, while you had your own girl on the team."

"You didn't answer my question," Sky pointed out in annoyance, tension now in her jaw.

Church didn't look impressed. "Yeah, I'm Church."

Within seconds after that confirmation came out of his mouth, Sky pulled a gun and aimed it directly at Church's forehead before any of the men could do anything about it. The CIA agent looked surprised immediately while Barney sighed in exasperation and Trench laughed. Sky was vaguely aware of her dad calling to her, telling her to lower her gun, but she didn't. This was the man that wanted to send them to their death in Vilena years ago. This was the man who had forced them to take this damn retrieval mission in the first place that cost Billy his life. "You're the stupid son of a bitch that likes putting my family in danger," she hissed.

Church's surprise wiped off his face, only to be replaced with cocky arrogance. "You're not going to pull that trigger."

"You're overestimating my sense of morality."

"Kid, let me explain something to you," he started off easily. "I'm CIA. That means that I've got friends in high-places, and that the second you pull that trigger, I've got people that will take you out before you even have a chance to blink."

"So, they're going to receive that order from beyond the grave?" Sky threatened, taking a step forward. "Do me a favor and don't try and intimidate me. I don't give a damn for your cheap tactics."

"My people _will_ shoot you if you pull that trigger."

"Dying is a job haphazard. Let your people do what they gotta do."

Church stared at her for a few seconds, looking at her hardened expression before a slow smile formed on his lips and he looked over to Barney. "I like her. She's got balls."

"She gets them from her father," Barney spoke up, inclining his head towards Lee who had his own gun out and at his side. He looked like he was ready to jump in and defend his daughter in an instant. Barney reached forward and put his hand on Sky's arm, pushing it down lightly. He felt some resistance at first before the tension left her body and she lowered her arm willingly, though she still glared at the man.

"Don't give my family any more suicidal missions, got it?"

"Promise," Church said with mock sincerity before he nodded at her. "I like you, kid. Ever think about being an agent?"

"About as much as I think about shooting myself in the foot."

"Ouch," he retorted before the sound of a chopper filled the air. He looked up at the approaching helicopter before walking towards it. "So are we going to take Vilain down or what?"

Trench fell into step behind the CIA agent while the other Expendables circled up, trailing behind. "Look at Baby-Face, making friends with the CIA spook," Caesar teased, patting her back.

"I was going to shoot him in the face, and somehow he likes me for that," Sky muttered, shaking her head.

Toll shrugged. "Maybe he's a masochist."

The brunette girl closed her eyes. "And, now I have the most horrendous mental image. Thanks Toll."

* * *

Holding onto her weapon and aiming down the road towards the approaching Sang convoy, Sky felt her adrenaline spike. Having hitched a ride on the CIA helicopter, they had made it to the airport before Vilain and his crew and they had taken up positions in front of the airport, with their guns at the ready so they could insure that the mercenary couldn't leave the country with the plutonium. As soon as the trucks came into view, they all opened fire, aiming for the tires and engine. The first two trucks veered out of the way and onto a different road, with the others following behind.

"Move out!" Barney shouted as they all started running towards their designated spots. Sky immediately fell into line beside Gunnar and Maggie, knowing the plan. She was supposed to go with both of them to a portion of the airport they were supposed to cover, near baggage claim, while the others had to move into different areas around the main floor. Her dad was supposed to go directly to the hangar to cut off anyone trying to get out.

Quickly Gunnar led them into the airport through one of the now broken windows and up the stairs, into their designated area. Screaming filled the air as terrified passengers flooded out of the airport doors. She looked over the balcony in order to see the Sangs armed with weapons. She got a better grip on her M-16 and filed in behind the blonde giant who quickly grabbed a cart towering with bags to use as their moving cover. "Sangs are in sight," she muttered.

"Wait for Barney to give the signal," Maggie spoke up.

"What was the signal again?" Gunnar asked with a raised eyebrow. "He never specified."

Gunshots rang out and the three peered over the balcony to see Barney, Church, and Trench all opening fire on the Sangs from their spot on the lower level. Sky smirked slightly as she shouldered her weapon and took aim. "I guess that's our signal." She immediately started firing, followed closely by her two companions. She managed to take out at least six members of the Sangs before they noticed where she was. Cursing she ducked behind the cart of bags as they fired in their area, while Gunnar started moving it around so she and Maggie could fire without being pinned down in one area.

Gunnar used his grenade launcher to hit three Sang members hiding in a reception area on their level. They had to duck down as the grenade went off, killing the three instantly, and sending debris flying everywhere. When they started to get pinned down, Sky went with the next phase of their plane. Ditch the cart and just move in for the kill. She was the first one to abandon the cart, sprinting down a corridor where she saw three Sangs waiting. She shot the first two in the head without hesitation before she dropped down into a baseball slide to avoid the bullets being shot her way. In one fluid motion she let go of her gun and pushed herself up, grabbing a knife before slitting the third man's throat before he got another shot off.

Another three Sangs came running down the corridor. Sky cursed to herself and prepared to throw her knife before Gunnar walked out into the hall and kicked one of the men over the balcony. Maggie came running in behind him, shooting at one of them before taking off, heading after Barney while Gunnar shot forward to take care of the other one, kicking him in the chest and beating his head against the wall before he stabbed him in the chest with his bowie knife and tossed him over the balcony. "C'mon Baby-Face!" Gunnar shouted.

Sky ditched her gun and took off after him, quickly falling into step beside him. They sprinted into another corridor, heading towards the stairs so they could help the others before more Sangs rushed up the stairs. "Mine!" Sky shouted, charging towards the front runner. She jumped up and dropkicked the man at the top of the stairs, causing a domino effect of bodies as they tumbled down the stairs. She quickly got up and followed them all down, tossing knives into their bodies or stooping down to slice at major arteries. At the last step the man had gotten up and was reaching for his gun, but she roundhouse kicked him in the temple with her steel-tipped boots before she stabbed her knife into his chest.

"Knew there was a reason I liked you."

Sky blinked before looking up to see Church standing nearby with Trench, Caesar and Toll. The girl was going to make a snarky remark before she noticed one of the seemingly dead Sangs get up with a gun in hand, aiming it at Church. Without hesitation she shifted her position slightly to get a better angle before tossing her knife, just whizzing past Church's cheek before it imbedded itself in the man's neck, killing him almost instantly. Caesar shouted in surprise while Toll looked impressed. Trench and Church both looked behind them to see the man with the knife sticking out of his neck before they turned to the brunette girl.

"Looks like you owe me one, Church," Sky piped up, straightening out of her throwing stance.

Church looked from the dead Sang back to the girl before nodding. "Looks like."

"Good girl," Gunnar said, walking down the stairs—stepping over bodies in the process—and placing a hand on her shoulder. He smirked at the CIA operative. "We don't call her the Baby-Face Assassin for nothing."

"Sky!"

Sky looked around to see her father running into the airport, looking around frantically. Once he laid eyes on her he sighed in relief before running over and pulling her into a hug. "You're okay? Were you hit?"

"I'm good," she assured, hugging him tight.

"I took care of Hector."

"What did you do?"

"Pushed him into a helicopter propeller after I kicked his ass."

Sky shook her head as much as she could in the embrace. "Doesn't that seem like a bit much?"

"Absolutely _no one_ lays a hand on my baby girl and gets away with it."

She smiled.

"Alright, if you two are done," Church piped up as sirens started filling the air. He gestured with his thumb towards the entrance of the airport. "We should get you little rascals out of here to get checked out by the EMT's while I smooth over this whole mess."

Lee looked around at all the dead bodies on the floor and the ruined property and nodded. "Yeah, looks like you've got a lot of work ahead of you, friend."

* * *

Sky took a large gulp of her beer as she leaned her head back against the wall of the plane. She looked up at the ceiling and pulled slightly at her t-shirt and sweatpants. Finally their mission was over. The plutonium was back where it belonged, Vilain was dead, and they were finally headed back home. It felt bitter sweet though. Billy was gone and never coming back, while they were still alive to fight another day. Her heart clenched painfully and she closed her eyes as a sole tear fell down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and prayed for the day whenever it wouldn't hurt to think about him anymore. She prayed for the day when she'd be able to say his name without crying. But she knew that would take time. So for now, she settled for just praying on a safe journey home.

"Baby-Face, c'mon up here," Barney called out to her.

Sky pushed herself up from her seat and walked towards the front where all the others were waiting to do their send-off. It was the final thing they did whenever they lost someone. Barney started it up before they all joined in in unison. "Beware, beware, walk with care for what you do or mumbo jumbo's gonna hoodoo you. Mumbo jumbo's gonna hoodoo you. Boom-lay, boom-lay, boom-lay, boom."

"To Billy," Barney said raising his beer bottle.

"To Billy," the others chorused, clinking their glasses before taking a large gulp of beer.

"Rest in peace," Gunnar mumbled.

Caesar sat back and sighed, rubbing at his neck. "I need a massage."

"Don't look at me," Toll replied immediately.

"Hey," Lee spoke up, looking to Barney.

"What?" The Italian asked.

"One friend to another?" Lee gestured to his own face before pointing to Barney's battered and bruised face. "You _really_ should learn how to fight."

Barney laughed before bumping forearms with his best friend. "Alright everyone, sit back and relax. We're going home."

"Home…" Sky muttered, leaning back in her seat as she downed the rest of her beer. "Home sounds good right about now."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_January 12__th__, 2013_

Sky shifted restlessly in her seat as she was looked over by the tattoo artist, his attention on her bruised ribs. It had been a day since the Expendables had finally left Albania and returned back to New Orleans after their hellish mission. Yin had been waiting at the tattoo shop for them when they got back around three in the morning, and after seeing Sky's bruised face, Barney's bruised face, and the exhausted expressions they all wore, he'd immediately demanded to know what had happened while he was in China. Sky had wanted nothing more than to take a shower, eat, and sleep, so while the others were giving Yin and Tool the rundown, she'd did just that. She slept longer than she anticipated and only half an hour ago was she woken up by her dad, telling her it was five in the afternoon and that Tool was going to check and make sure she was healing well. She managed to take a shower first, before she found herself perched in one of the tattoo chairs, waiting for the artist to give his verdict.

Tool pushed against one of her ribs and it only ached, as opposed to the sharp pain she had been accustom to over the last few days. "Ribs aren't cracked or broken, just bruised. And by the looks of it, it's already starting the go away," he spoke up before straightening so he could look at her face. The bruise on her cheek was a faint yellow and green instead of the sickly purple it had been earlier in the week and the cut above her eye wasn't hurting as much as it had been. "Cheek's good, and her eye's healing nicely. These stitches are about ready to come off."

"Finally," Sky muttered under her breath. "Those damn things itch."

"Christmas, you wanna take care of pulling these stitches off?" Tool asked, straightening up and placing a hand on the young girls shoulder. He looked back towards the knife-thrower who was the only other occupant in the room. All the others were out at the bar. "I know I'll get a lecture if I accidently nick her if I do it."

"Damn right," Lee replied, walking over and pulling out a knife from his hands. "Head back, sweetheart," he said gently.

Sky immediately leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She felt the tip of the sharp knife near her skin before the tension in the stitches went away as her father cut through. She sat still and tried not to move around when he pulled the stitches out and once he was done she felt gauze on her eye to absorb whatever small bleeding had started. "You're good," he assured, tossing the stitches into the garbage can while Tool walked over with a small first aid kit. He removed the gauze from her eye and rubbed ointment on it before wiping his hands on a towel.

"Thanks," she said, standing up and turning around to look in the mirror. Her eye was the only thing on her face that was still sufficiently bruised, but other than that, she looked better than she had in days.

"Not a problem. Now, I'm gonna go head down to the bar if you two wanna come," Tool spoke up, already walking towards his bike.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Lee called out. "I'm gonna swing by and see Lacy first."

"I'm just gonna stay here for a bit," Sky spoke up, sitting back in her chair.

"Suit yourself!" Tool called out before his engine roared to life and he was out of the shop.

The second the tattoo artist was gone, Lee looked to his daughter, worry in his eyes. "You want me to stay with you?"

"Nah, you go see Lacy. Tell her I say 'hi'," she assured, giving him a small smile. "I was gonna try and call Jake, anyway. I figured I'd let him know what was going on since he showed up while we were out."

"Alright, if you're sure," he muttered, leaning down to kiss her forehead and hugging her. "If you ever need to talk I'm here, you know that don't you?"

Sky's heart clenched slightly and she nodded, hugging her dad tighter. Billy's face flashed in her mind and it took every ounce of her willpower not to cry. She nodded and kissed his cheek, letting go. "I know dad."

"Oh and before I forget," he said, pulling away to reach into his pockets. He pulled something out that he clenched tightly in his fist before he placed it into Sky's open hand, closing her fingers around the item. She immediately felt metal and the familiar shape of dog tags and her throat closed up. Her dad must've known, because he leaned forward and kissed her forehead again. "We thought you should have it."

Sky didn't need to open her hand to know what it was. "Thank you."

Lee pulled away and kissed her forehead one more time before he headed off to his motorcycle, slipping his helmet on his head. He turned it on and waved to her one last time before exiting the shop, leaving her all alone with her thoughts. She leaned back against the seat and took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions again before she opened her palm and looked down at the dog tags in her hand. The second she saw _Billy 'The Kid' Timmons_ she started crying. She wrapped her fingers around the tags tightly and tried to even her breathing as sobs bubbled up from her mouth.

Sky had no idea how long she sat there crying. It felt like an eternity and once she finally ran out of tears she wiped her face with the towel Tool had left on his station. She looked in the mirror behind her and saw that her eyes looked slightly red and she looked exhausted. Turning away from her reflection she walked up the stairs and towards her room, immediately locking her door when she entered. She took the dog tags and hung them up on her wall above her bed where the framed picture of all the Expendables hung. She looked at it briefly before she grabbed her laptop and her cell phone and sat down on her bed to text her brother.

**_Can we video chat? I really need to talk to you._****_(5:42 PM)_**

She busied herself with turning on her laptop, waiting for his response. Just as she arrived at her welcome screen, her phone vibrated.

_What happened? Are you okay? (5:44 PM)_

**_Define 'okay'. (5:44 PM)_**

She made it to her homepage just as she received her next text message.

_I'll be on in five. (5:45 PM)_

Sky smiled at her brother's assurances before she leaned back on her pillows, closing her eyes as she waited for five minutes to pass. She was pretty sure only three minutes had passed before her laptop started chirping, signaling that her brother was online and calling her. She accepted the call quickly and her brother's face popped up onto the screen. He didn't have a shirt on and he seemed to only have on sweatpants and his dog tags, so she could see the plastic wrapping around his right shoulder that made it obvious he got a new tattoo. His hair was wet and his glasses were slightly foggy. Sky smiled slightly. "Were you just in the shower?"

_"__Yes, but Cougar always complains that I take too long anyway, so you really did me a favor by getting my ass out of the shower." _

"You text in the shower?"

_"__Don't judge me,"_ Jensen retorted, before his glasses returned to normal. Almost immediately, his eyes widened behind them and he scooted closer to the screen. _"__Jesus, Sky, what happened to your face?"_

"I got beat," she replied honestly, her voice getting a bit empty as she started explaining. "My eye should be fine in a couple days or so and my cheek is just bruised. My ribs are okay now too."

_"__What happened to your ribs?"_

"Same thing that happened to my face."

Jensen didn't look amused. _"__Sky what happened? Tell me."_

Sky looked at her brother's face before she clenched her jaw and took a deep breath, preparing to explain everything that had happened over the last few days. "Church gave us a job; it was supposed to be simple retrieval, in and out. But these other mercenaries… the Sangs… they were after the same thing. Billy—" Her voice cracked at his name and she had to pause and clear her throat. "—and I were supposed to watch out for the others, but the Sangs got the drop on us. They used us as a bargaining chip for the case we were supposed to recover and when they roughed us up a bit in front of the guys, they gave it up. And… and t-they killed Billy. T-They killed him right next to me. He died in my arms, Jake. I _watched_ him die."

_"__Aw shit, Sky,"_ Jensen muttered, a sad expression forming on her face. _"__I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."_

"We killed them," Sky continued, wiping away at a stray tear that fell from her eyes. "We killed all the Sangs. And you'd think that would make it better but—"

_"__But it doesn't,"_ he completed for her, looking completely remorseful. _"__I'm sorry, Sky. Is there anything I can do? I can fly down there again if you need me to. I'm sure I could convince Clay since Tool gave him a free tattoo, or I could sneak out or something. Just tell me what you need me to do, okay?"_

"Just talk to me," she mumbled, looking at him and giving him the best smile she could muster at the moment. "Just tell me about what's going on in your unit. Taunt me about Cougar or Clay or Roque or anyone or anything. Just please talk to me."

Jensen gave a small smile and nodded. _"__Talking… that I can do. So, did I tell you that Mrs. Pooch is pregnant? She's around three weeks along and she's already craving the __**weirdest **__things. I know they say to expect weird cravings when a woman's pregnant, but I don't think its __**natural**_ _some of the things she's wanting. But, they don't know if it's going to be a boy or girl yet, and apparently they don't want to know, cause they want it to be a surprise. We've got a betting pool going on to see what gender the baby's gonna be and I've got a hundred down that says it's gonna be a boy, because apparently, Cougar thinks it is and he's like __**always **__right with most things. And can you believe that Pooch threatened to shoot me when I said that Jolene 'screwed the Pooch'? I mean that was some comedy gold right there! And he just starts saying that I…"_

Sky smiled as she listened to her brother's voice as he prattled on about the upcoming addition to the Pooch family, before abruptly switching topics to some of the missions they'd had over the past few months. He was all over the place with his stories, often breaking off and not making sense before he backtracked and clarified, but she didn't care at that moment. She just listened to him speak and watched his over the top gestures. In their lives, death was a very real possibility. She could've very well died on the mission, just like Jensen could die on any mission he was on. But sitting on her bed, listening to him speak—now talking about karaoke for some reason—she was reminded that she was alive and he was alive. And in their lives, they needed to cherish the little moments with family while they could because they never knew if the next instance could be their last.

* * *

It was around eleven o'clock at night when Sky heard the knocking on the door downstairs. She had been messaging Jensen on her laptop while they both watched the movie 'Doom' on their laptops, typing back comments or things they found random about the movie. Jensen had sent a remark about how the movie didn't do the game justice—and that Cougar was looking at him weird since he apparently thought he was still talking to her through a video-chat—when she heard the knocking. Immediately she had tensed and pulled both her earbuds out of her ears to make sure she wasn't just hearing things.

The others still weren't back from bar-hopping yet, and if it were one of them, they would just unlock the door, not knock on it. Sending a quick message to her brother telling her what was happening she grabbed her Beretta from her bedside table and left her room, walking quietly and quickly down the hall and metal stairs. They were cold on her bare feet but she ignored it as she looked through the darkened tattoo shop towards the front door. She couldn't see anyone through the glass door but still she cautiously moved around before ending at the door, pulling it open only to see a small package on the door step and no one in sight. It was wrapped in brown paper with 'Skylar Christmas' written on it in big black letters, but nothing as to the sender.

Frowning she grabbed the package and brought it inside the shop. A million thoughts ran through her head, wondering why she got a package and who it was sent from. Vaguely she thought it could be a bomb, but she didn't think it was likely. She—and the Expendables collectively—hadn't pissed anyone off lately except for the Sangs, and they were all dead. So she grabbed a knife from the front desk drawer and opened it up. Nestled inside the box was a small black high-tech looking phone, an earpiece, and a tablet. "What the hell?" She muttered, pulling the items out of the box. As she lifted them up to examine them, a small card fell out and onto the floor. She placed the items back into the box before she crouched down to grab the card and opened it up, reading the contents.

_Even though I like you kid, I don't particularly like being in anyone's debt. Tablet's wired to transmit to me if you press the contact icon and the phone's got only my number on it. Ear piece is if you're on mission and need a rescue. Just push it once and I'm called. All of these are untraceable, and all of these are yours. You need me, call me. _

_-Church_

Sky blinked in surprise before she stood up and tossed the card back in the box before carrying it upstairs to her room. She pulled the tablet, phone, and earpiece out before placing it in her backpack that she never went anywhere without. She made a decision right there not to tell anyone about the package. She wasn't sure how her dad or Barney would react to knowing that she pretty much had a free favor to call in with Church. And she knew having a contingency plan was always a good thing in their line of work.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: This chapter starts the Losers arc of the story! I had a lot of fun writing for this movie after doing the Expendables because it is so much lighter (in comparison at least) and it's more playful in nature! Anyway, I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Amazon Jungle, Bolivia_

_May 17__th__, 2013_

"Look I'm sorry I can't give you that kind of information. I'll do anything else, I just can't do that. I can't betray my country, I won't. This country gave me everything. Oh God, just keep him away from me. Please, don't let him near me! Oh, no! Oh God!" Jensen narrated as he played with the dog and Godzilla 'toys' he'd made out of a clip from his gun, several pieces of sticks and pencils, tape, rubber bands, and miscellaneous pieces of plastic he managed to find. The Losers had been in the jungles of Bolivia for almost a week after moving from Colombia where there last mission was. They were ordered to stay in South America for another mission, issued by their CIA handler, whom they still had yet to meet. And they weren't given much information as to their mission yet, so they had just been spending the passing days waiting. Hence the reason for Jensen's immense boredom.

"C'mon baby, just relax into it and let Godzilla do his thang," Jensen continued narrating in a deeper voice, banging his two toys together as if they were having sex to create a shadow effect on the American flag just in front of him.

"Okay, c'mon this is wrong on so many levels," Pooch spoke up from his spot near the tree he'd been leaning against, near their set up table and supplies while he scratched his back with a long stick he'd found. "Are you in or not?"

"And get cheated again?"

"What? No, the Pooch may lie, the Pooch may steal, the Pooch may—"

"The Pooch may refer to himself in the third person?" Jensen interrupted, placing his two toys down so he could adjust his Army green muscle shirt and dog tags that were starting to stick to his body.

"Occasionally," Pooch retorted. "But the Pooch will not cheat."

"Well, the Pooch can relax," Jensen smiled, gesturing over towards Cougar who was sitting on a rock near the stream behind him, cleaning out his sniper rifle, wearing his own muscle shirt though he kept his hat on despite the heat. "I was worried about Cougar."

Pooch nodded, eyeing their sniper suspiciously. "Yeah, it's always the quiet ones."

Cougar just smirked.

"What? It's Blind Man's Bluff," Roque piped up, looking at Pooch and Jensen with a look on his face from his spot right by the stream. His grey muscle shirt had sweat stains around the neck and arms, just as most of the others had in the Bolivian heat. "High card wins. How in the hell can a man cheat you?" That logic seemed to strike a chord with the others and soon they were all seated around the table, while Roque shuffled the deck. Once it was shuffled they all grabbed cards, but didn't flip them over yet.

"I feel like I got something over here," Pooch smiled, looking around at his fellow teammates.

"Queen, King, Jack. Queen, King, Jack. Queen, King, Jack," Jensen chanted over and over again as he rubbed the back of his card. Roque and Cougar just remained silent, holding their cards before Jensen started the count. "Okay, one, two, three! Go!"

Immediately, they all flipped their cards over and held it to their foreheads, so everyone else could see their card, but no one could see theirs. Jensen stuck his card to his forehead, which wasn't hard since he was still sweating. He smiled as he looked around the group, not knowing that his own card was a low two of diamonds. Cougar slipped his card so it was in between his hat and his forehead, letting the eight of diamonds in the corner show. Pooch had his three of hearts stuck sideways on his forehead, while Roque had his six of spades tucked in the band of his hat. "I have a great feeling about this one," the demolitions expert smirked.

"Well your momma had a great feeling last night," Jensen said with a laugh.

Pooch laughed at the dig and high-fived their comms tech. "Oh, that was a momma joke."

Roque looked back and forth between the two before he pulled out a large, silver, serrated knife. "Alright, let's go," he said twirling it around in his hands before setting it down on the table as his wager.

"Oh now it's a game!" Jensen smiled, looking down at the knife on the table. It reminded him of his dad's bowie knife that he loved to use on missions. And Roque's love of knives in general reminded him of Lee and Sky, the two knife throwers of the Expendables. With a grin, Jensen reached down behind him to his stash of weapons and pulled a gun out and placed it on the table. "I will… raise you."

"You don't wanna do that," Roque retorted.

"Oh no?" Jensen challenged.

"Is that the piece you got off that Honduran General?" Pooch asked as he loaded a magazine into his own weapon.

"Yes it is."

"Guess what?" Pooch said, flipping his gun to catch the muzzle before placing it down on the table. "I'm definitely in."

The group started laughing and goading each other on before Roque pulled out another large knife and laid it on the table by his. Jensen started laughing like a little kid, seeing one of Roque's favorite knives, while Cougar whistled slightly and shook his head knowing that the game was getting serious. "How many knives do you have? What's going on here?" Jensen asked in amusement, looking around Roque's back to his stash. There was a pile of knives, ranging from large to small, and for a split second he wondered if he should set up Sky with Roque instead of Cougar because of their love of knives.

That thought died a very quick death.

"Cougs, your bet," Pooch reminded, pointing to their sniper. Cougar grinned and reached down for a weapon.

"Hey Losers!"

They all immediately turned to see Clay walking towards them, with a radio in his hands. "It's time! Pack up and get ready to move out!"

"Yes sir!" They all chorused, jumping up to start packing their gear away. Jensen took a peek at his card and whined slightly, while Pooch cursed at his card and Roque frowned at his. Cougar grinned at his card and looked at the group in a way that showed he would've cleaned them all out had Clay not stopped their game. The three men quickly reclaimed their weapons and got the trunks of weapons and ammunition packed into their Humvee. Once everything was packed away, they all hopped in with Pooch driving, Clay in the front seat, and Jensen, Cougar, and Roque in the back. As always, Pooch's little dog bobble head was on the dashboard.

"Alright, we've got a drug and arms dealer named Fadhil," Clay announced, looking at the tablet on his lap, scrolling through the information they'd gotten from their handler. "He's running a homegrown terrorist assembly line out by the _Madre de Dios_ river basin. We find it, we paint it for the stealth bombers and we get the hell out. No muss, no fuss."

"For that they need us?" Roque asked with a skeptical look on his face.

"Would you rather take on fifty dudes with AK's?" Pooch asked with a shrug as he continued driving through the dense Bolivia jungle, trying to stick to the dirt roads. Everyone went silent and Pooch laughed, knowing he had made a valid point. They drove the rest of the way in relative silence, with Jensen occasionally spouting off random fun facts regarding jungles and all kinds of creatures that lived in jungles until Roque pulled out one of his knives and started sharpening it. Even with Cougar sitting in between him and Roque, Jensen shut his mouth for self-preservation.

Once they arrived at their vantage point near Fadhil's base they all quickly changed into their gear, putting on their camo and Kevlar, strapping their weapons onto their bodies. Jensen and Pooch opted out of a long-sleeve like the others chose, and stuck with short-sleeves due to the hot environment.

Roque was peering through a set of binoculars, looking at the large compound below them, before he spotted their target standing on a balcony and talking on a phone. "Alright, I've got eyes on Mr. Fadhil."

"Paint it," Clay ordered, looking to Pooch who was on the back of the Humvee with the laser targeting device. Jensen was perched on the top of the Humvee, his feet resting on a box of weapons while he held his walkie-talkie in his hands, waiting to call in the air-strike. Clay was standing just behind Cougar who was crouched down in the tall grass with his sniper rifle aimed down at the compound silently scanning the area to make sure everything was good.

"Showtime fellas," Pooch said, peering through the targeting device, making sure he was right on target, before pressing the button to light up the area with infrared lights their stealth bomber could see. "Go ahead and call me Michelangelo."

"Drop-Kick this is Pinball, requesting fire mission. The target is lazed and you are clear to make a run from North to South, over," Jensen said into the large radio in his hand.

_"__Roger Pinball, target's acquired and locked. Be advised ETA to fireworks 08 mikes."_

"Roger, we'll break out the ear plugs," Jensen replied as the others all checked their watches to see that there was eight minutes until the air strike.

Cougar, who had been silently peering through his scope, noticed a truck pulling into the compound, filled with children on board. Immediately he tensed. "Boss," he called out, looking over his shoulder to Clay before signaling forward.

Clay walked over to his sniper and accepted the rifle he was handed so he could look through the scope. When he spotted the children he let out a curse. "They're using kids as mules," he announced, which prompted nearly everyone to look back at the compound with binoculars to see that he was right. "Call it in."

"Drop-Kick we have children at target site. Repeat, we have eyes on children at target site. Please advise," Jensen said immediately, still checking in his binoculars to see if the children were being harmed in anyway. Seeing those kids, he thought about Haley and Celia automatically and prayed that they weren't being hurt in anyway.

_"__Acknowledged, maintain position."_

"Maintain position?" Roque asked in surprise before looking to their CO. "What is he talking about Colonel?"

Jensen tried radioing the stealth bomber again while Pooch and Cougar kept eyes on the compound. "Drop-Kick, we strongly recommend cancellation of the payload delivery."

_"__Your orders stand. Prep for extraction."_

The men all remained silent, digesting what they were being told. They were to just sit back and let a compound full of innocent children be bombed? Jensen looked to Clay immediately, and saw that the others had similar expressions of disgust on their faces. He couldn't see Cougar's face, however, since he was still watching the compound through his scope, but he knew his best friend wouldn't be happy with their orders.

"Cougar," Clay said simply. Immediately, the sniper was on his feet, using the butt of his rifle to hit the targeting device, breaking it. With the target system down, Clay pressed the button of the receiver for the comms strapped to his neck and started talking, taking over for Jensen so the young tech wouldn't get in trouble for disobeying orders. "Drop-Kick this is Pinball. Targeting equipment has suffered catastrophic system failure. I am calling an on-site abort."

_"__Well that was just stupid."_

Clay immediately tensed and looked around at his men at the foreign voice that just went out over the comms. It wasn't the stealth pilot coming in with the payload. "Is this mission controller?"

_"__This is Max, Colonel Clay."_

"No one uses names on comms," Clay retorted immediately, as his men watched on, wondering what the hell was going on. "This is a secure military channel."

_"__Is it really—"_

"God damn it, you listen to me," he interrupted, his annoyance bubbling over, looking towards Jensen and pointing to the comms, signaling for the youngest member of their unit to figure out what was up with their comms and how this Max person got on. "There are children on site."

_"__And you think I didn't know that? We locked coordinates the moment you painted. Delivery will occur on schedule."_

"You can't just—"

_"__You have yourselves a super day."_

"Shit," Clay cursed, turning back to walk towards his tech. "Jensen contact the plane directly. Tell them I want an abort."

"I'm trying," the blonde said, messing with the knobs on his radio, trying to get a signal. "He's jamming us. There's nothing I can do."

Clay turned back to look at Roque who nodded, knowing what his CO was thinking. "There's something we can do."

"So here it is, the five of us against a fortress and we've got…" Roque trailed off to look at his watch. "About eight minutes until an airstrike sets the world on fire."

"Plenty of time."

Pooch smirked and slipped his sunglasses onto his face. "I'll drive."

* * *

Some days, Jensen really missed his family of mercenaries. They were the people he loved most and grew up with. He was raised in the craziness and chaos that came with mercenaries and some days he missed that. And some days—like today—Jensen was worried by how similar the Losers were to the Expendables. They were currently in the Humvee, barreling towards the Fadhil compound, intent on rescuing the children with Clay barking out orders for Cougar to get ready. The sniper was currently standing up in the vehicle, his torso poking out of the hole in the top of the Humvee for shooters, with his sniper rifle in his hands, while Roque and Jensen sat in the area beside his legs. The plan was to barrel through the gates, kill the guards, rescue the children and get the hell out of dodge before the airstrike hit.

It sounded like one of Barney's suicidal plans.

"Everybody brace!" Pooch shouted as the gate came into view.

Jensen and Roque grabbed onto Cougar's legs, making the sniper wasn't going to be jostled around as they crashed through the gate and into the compound. Once they were through, they relinquished their hold on the sniper and allowed him to shift around freely while Pooch laughed maniacally as they drove through the compound. Cougar picked off Fadhil's men from the balconies of buildings and off of the back of trucks with expert precision and no hesitation. When the car stopped, Cougar immediately ducked back into the vehicle as they all piled out firing at the men swarming around them and using the Humvee as cover.

Pooch—who had made sure to grab his bobble-head 'Mojito'—ducked down behind the vehicle with Jensen and smiled at the tech. "Us against fifty dudes with AK's, huh!"

Jensen smirked in response before they all stood up and started shooting at the men trying to get around the vehicles, quickly taking them out while shouts filled the compound for others to assist in taking out the Losers. They quickly ducked back down in cover again before Clay started shouting orders. "Jensen and Pooch get a truck for the kids! The rest of us will be out in five!"

"Not to mention the airstrike in four!" Roque reminded.

"Alright, we'll be out in four!" Clay corrected, shouting after the two men who had run off to find a vehicle. "Rally point, on me!" He shouted before jumping to his feet and running across the compound with Cougar providing cover while Roque trailed behind them. The two men went towards the building they saw the kids enter before they got to a half open garage door. Roque signaled that he was going to go in first before he crawled in firing at the two men he spotted at a table full of weapons before Clay entered after him, taking out the last man. The CO rushed forward to where he saw the kids herded behind a gate and opened it up, ushering them out. "Alright, let's go!"

The kids ran out screaming as Roque directed them towards the door while a little girl stood behind to tug on Clay's uniform. _"Señor, señor, mi hermanito esta alla arriba."_

Clay didn't know much Spanish but he knew _hermanito_ meant 'little brother' and _arriba_ meant 'up'. He wasn't a fluent Spanish speaker like Cougar—or at least a decent Spanish speaker like Jensen or Pooch—but he knew that the little girl was trying to tell her that her little brother was somewhere upstairs. He nodded her way and placed a hand on her shoulder, nudging her towards Roque. "Okay, go with him." Roque shot him a look, and Clay quickly looked at his watch seeing that they had a little over three minutes. He tossed his gun over to Roque. "You got them."

"Alright, who's your _papi?_" Roque said loudly and full of jolly, trying to calm the kids down as he led them out of the building and towards the area cleared area that Cougar was waiting. The second he was near the Spaniard, Cougar started talking in Spanish to all the little kids, speaking faster than the demolitions expert could follow. It was the most he'd ever heard the sniper say at once, but he was calming them down, so Roque was more than happy to let him keep talking.

* * *

Jensen blinked slightly, looking at the yellow short school bus in front of him and Pooch. They had run further into the compound after Clay's orders, looking for a truck suitable to transport all the children and themselves out of the area in the short span of time they had. They had seen absolutely no vehicles up until that point, except for the old looking, dirty, yellow bus. "No," Jensen muttered.

"Yeah," Pooch retorted.

"Really?"

"Why not?"

"Can you?" Jensen asked, wondering if the man could even drive the school bus.

"Of course."

Jensen shrugged. It was a better plan than Clay's. "Okay." They climbed onto the small bus, Pooch heading towards the driver seat to start it up and make sure it was working while Jensen radioed into the others, telling them that they had found a vehicle.

"Work for the Pooch," the man muttered, as he put the bus in drive and grinned when it started to roll forward. He smirked and started driving it towards the last spot that they'd seen Roque, Clay, and Cougar, by the main building of the compound. Thankfully when they got there, all of Fadhil's men were either dead or scattered, and only Roque, Cougar, and the kids were there.

"What the hell is this?" Roque asked immediately as he opened the back door and climbed in. He reached down to grab the first child Cougar had held up to him and passed the little girl to Jensen who put her in one of the seats. They continued the mini assembly line while Roque tossed a look to their transpo man. "What, you couldn't find anything else?"

"Beggars can't be choosers!"

* * *

Clay went as quickly and carefully as he could, walking around the back of the building where there was a pool and large palm trees. Two men came out of the building, holding two women clad in bathing suits as hostages, but he quickly shot at the men, killing them and freeing the women. "Ladies," he said, smiling in their direction. They screamed and ran away. On normal occasions it would've been a blow to his ego, but he was too concerned with finding the small boy before the airstrike hit. He raced into the building and up a set of stairs, ending up in one of the balconies that he'd spotted when they were originally painting the area.

_"__Clay we've got the kids. Rally point, two minutes."_

Just as he turned the corner, he spotted Fadhil standing in front of a couch with a knife in one hand and a small boy in the other, holding onto a stuffed bear. The little boy looked nervous and fearful as Fadhil held his shoulder and the knife to his throat. "Max sent you, didn't he?" Fadhil asked without a shred of surprise on his face. It was just resignation. Clay didn't respond, but kept his eyes on the small boy. "I won't commit to his crazy plans and he does this."

"Let me make this real easy for you," Clay said, cutting into his statement. "You let him go, I let you live." Fadhil removed the knife and lowered it down on the coffee table. "Come here son, c'mon walk to me," Clay spoke immediately, gesturing to the small boy. The child quickly moved over to his side, holding his leg while the soldier pushed him behind his leg. "Atta boy."

_"__Clay, get the hell out, we've got to go, now!" _Pooch's voice crackled over the comms.

"He'll kill you too, you know?" Fadhil asked, looking at the man. Suddenly he reached forward for the knife, and Clay quickly shot him in the heart, killing him.

He felt the little boy wincing behind him and he quickly holstered his weapon before lifting the boy up into his arms and sprinting towards the stairs. He took the steps two at a time before dashing out of the building, heading to the rally point where his team was waiting. He saw the yellow bus ahead of him with Cougar standing outside the back door and internally questioned where his team had found the vehicle, before he brushed the thought off. At least they had some wheels. He quickly placed the child in the back door before climbing in himself, Cougar slamming the door shut behind them.

"What, you stop for coffee in there?" Pooch asked from the driver's seat as Cougar ran around to the front and hopped into the crouch down beside the driver, shutting the door and holding onto the metal bar on the side. Immediately, the bus took off, Pooch driving through a dirt path through the jungle that would take them farther away from the compound in the quickest amount of time.

"What kind of blast radius are we looking at?" Roque asked, looking towards Jensen.

The blonde tech gulped slightly, looking at his small military issue tablet with the map of the area and the approximate blast radius it would have. It encompassed about three miles of an area around the compound. Jensen whirled the screen around to show Roque the red circle around the compound which meant 'dead and gone' the orange circle just around it which meant 'slightly less dead' and the green circle spanning around the rest of the area that meant 'slight possibility of survival'.

Roque stared at the screen. "Okay Pooch, I'm gonna need you to make this bus move a little faster."

"Everybody hold onto something," Clay ordered, looking around at the kids surrounding him while he held onto the young boy he'd saved in his lap since there were no more seats. Without hesitation the kids started reaching out for one another, the seats, or the members of the Losers. A little girl and a boy grabbed fistfuls of Jensen's uniform, while a small girl grabbed onto Roque's hand.

"Like right now!" Roque shouted, spotting the stealth bomber flying overhead. Pooch quickly shifted gears and floored the gas pedal, shooting forward as an explosion rocked the area and a wave of fire started racing through the trees towards the bus. Pooch made the bus go faster before they soared over the top of the hill as the wave from the explosion hit the back of the bus, propelling it forward. Children and soldiers alike all started screaming and bracing themselves as the wheels touched the ground again and they hurtled down the hill. The screaming continued on as Pooch assured the group he had everything under control before they ended up in a large pile of mud, halting their decent.

Cougar was breathing heavily, before tossing a look towards Pooch, slowly releasing the death grip he'd had on the metal pole that was the only thing keeping him upright. He raised his eyebrows in a way that said 'it could be worse' while Pooch looked around to make sure the others were okay. Jensen looked like he was still trying to breathe properly while Clay and Roque looked relieved. Soon all the kids started laughing, happy that they were okay, and chattering about the 'fun ride'.

It took a few minutes of shuffling—and composing themselves—before the Losers got out of the bus and helped all the kids off, starting their trek through the jungle. Jensen had radioed in for an extraction during their walk, before moving towards the front of the group with Pooch so they could watch after the three little girls and four boys that had taken to leading them all, their hands intertwined. Clay was in front of the group of kids, the CO still holding the small boy with the bear. Cougar was carrying a little girl, quietly talking to her and the little ones around him in Spanish, saying something that made them laugh while Roque brought up the rear, holding the sister of the small boy Clay was holding, tugging at a piece of her hair before looking away innocently each time she glared playfully in his direction.

_"__Pinball, this is chopper three. Prepare for extraction."_

"My favorite part was when we were completely on fire… but the shootout; that was good times," Jensen spoke up in amusement as they neared the location of extraction.

Clay rolled his eyes at his tech as they broke through the trees and into the clearing that was to serve as their extraction point. The helicopter was already on the ground, the blades still spinning so they could make a quick exit.

"There she blows!" Roque said enthusiastically to the kids, causing them all to laugh.

"Let's go, let's go!" Pooch said, as soon as they were all corralled together before he started running to the chopper.

"Alright, everyone together!" Jensen shouted, running beside the group of kids, making sure he didn't lose sight of any of them. He had strong instincts when it came to kids, courtesy of his two nieces, and any time he saw one that even hinted at falling behind he would move in to nudge them forward, making sure they were all at the helicopter.

The chopper door opened and crew chief on the chopper looked to Clay. "Sir, there isn't enough room on the chopper for your team and them."

"Then it's them," he replied instantly, lifting the small boy in his arms up and into the chopper while Jensen and Pooch helped the other kids climb in. Roque helped the boy's sister into the chopper and smiled when she immediately ran over to him, hugging onto him tight. The other kids were quickly loaded on, with Cougar helping the little girl he was holding into the chopper before he stepped back so he could see all the kids.

_"__Muy bien, chicos. Vamos a ir a dar una vuelta, eh?" _Cougar started saying in Spanish, causing all the kids to smile. _"__Agarrante fuerte, eh? Venga,"_ the sniper finished, waving to the kids. The other Losers were vaguely aware that the sniper told the kids to hold on tight and something about a trip. The kids all started saying goodbye, when the little boy Clay saved held out his bear to him.

"No, _gracias_," he smiled, gently pushing the small toy towards the small boy. "Keep your bear, okay? Keep him safe."

_"__Gracias,"_ the small boy smiled.

_"__De nada. Adios,"_ Clay said before looking to the soldier on the chopper. "Get them outta here."

The door slid closed and the Losers stepped back, waving to the chopper, and looking at the smiling faces of the kids through the small windows as the chopper started to take off into the air. "Those are some cute little buggars," Pooch smiled, looking up at the helicopter that was climbing slowly but surely into the air. "Hope they make it to the court martial."

"What is that?" Roque said suddenly, looking around towards the others. "Do you hear that?"

Suddenly, the other Losers were aware of the sound of a plane or jet off in the distance. Jensen felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach and he immediately tried working the radio in his hand. "Guys… this is bad," he said when he noticed their signal was being jammed again.

_"__Max, Cobra One. Bandit locked." _

The men all stiffed, listening to the radio conversation that wasn't theirs.

_"__Understood. Cobra One, kill Bandit."_

It became sickeningly clear what was going on and Clay looked up at the sky, his eyes locked on the helicopter as his body started running towards it unconsciously, his men following behind. A loud sound ripped through the air and Clay looked up to see a missile being shot out of a second stealth bomber and towards the helicopter. "NO!"

The missile hit the chopper, causing the metal bird to explode into a ball of fire and raining metal. Jensen felt absolutely sick to his stomach as he pumped his arms and legs faster, his eyes on the pieces of the helicopter that crashed to the ground around fifty yards in front of them. When all the pieces of the flaming metal were on the ground, the men screeched to a halt. In between the twisted and warped pieces of burning metal they could see the outlines of small charred bodies in the wreckage. The blonde couldn't pry his eyes away from the sight as a cold feeling started to envelop them. The kids they tried saving were dead. The innocent children that had done _nothing_ wrong in the world were dead because it was supposed to be _them_ on the chopper. He was vaguely aware of Cougar dropping to a knee and pulling his hat off, praying in Spanish, but he couldn't even focus on his other teammates. His hands were shaking and he was trying desperately not to throw up at the smell of burning flesh and metal.

"That's supposed to be us."

Jensen snapped his attention away from the wreckage and towards his CO, who was staring at the scene in front of them, a hard look on his face. "We were supposed to die. Max was trying to kill us."

"So what do we do?" Roque asked.

"We can't go to the embassy," Clay said immediately, his mind already starting to work, though his words sounded a bit hollow. "We'll be framed for this. We'll be framed for everything."

"What do we _do, _Clay?" Roque said again more forcefully as Cougar lifted up from his crouch and replaced his hat on his head, moving closer so they could all hear their CO.

"We figure out a way to clear our names. But for now… we're dead to the rest of the world," he muttered, pulling his dog tags off of his neck, gesturing for the rest of his team to do the same. Roque pulled his off immediately, followed closely by Cougar. Pooch pulled his dog tags over his neck in order to take his wedding band off of the chain, before pulling the tag off and tossing it to Clay so he could put the band back on the chain and over his head.

Jensen pulled his dog tags off and stared at them a second, rubbing at the familiar etching of his name on the small piece of metal. His mind went immediately to his dad and the other Expendables back home. They were going to receive a visit from soldiers, carrying his dog tags and a folded up flag whenever the salvage team came and recovered the tags. He had no idea how they would react, but he knew it wouldn't be good. Guilt mixed in with the cold feeling in his chest and his throat tightened the slightest bit, knowing that he was going to be causing his family pain. But it had to be done. He was the last to hand his tags over to his CO before Clay tossed them into the fire.

"Let's move, Losers. We've got a long walk ahead of us."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Just a warning, the next couple of chapters are going to be a bit sad and angsty, but it'll morph into the light-hearted nature the Losers are known for.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_May 20__th__, 2013_

"You look like Christmas came early… no pun intended."

Sky glared playfully at her Godfather before she went back to bouncing her knee. The Expendables were all gathered in the shop, sitting around and waiting for Tool to show up and give them their job options. Caesar and Toll were playing a game of pool—a game which the heavy weapons specialist was winning, much to Toll's annoyance. Lee was throwing knives at the target board with Barney hanging around nearby. Gunnar was seated in one of the tattoo chairs, contemplating getting more ink on his body and Yin was silently judging each option the blonde picked out, approving or rejecting ideas with just a motion of his head. Sky was seated at the front desk, bouncing her knee and drumming her fingernails.

Not only had Tool said he was going to give them their three job options, but he also agreed to finally give Sky a piercing and a special surprise.

"I'm excited to finally get my belly button pierced now that dad gave Tool the okay," Sky replied easily, earning a groan from her father and another thrown knife that seemed to have a bit more force behind it. She ignored it. "And I wanna know what the other surprise is."

"Maybe a tattoo?" Gunnar piped up from where he was looking at a sample of a dragon.

"Not yet," Lee immediately cut in, pausing in his throwing. "I agreed to the piercing, but you can only get a tattoo after you do something impressive on a mission and earn it."

"Hey, I'm impressive!" Sky complained.

"Only when you do something spectacular and remarkable on a mission do you get a tattoo," Lee clarified, tossing his daughter a look that said he wasn't going to budge on that particular rule.

Caesar laughed slightly as he rested against the pool table. "Baby-Face is gonna have to blow up a building."

Toll cursed loudly as he missed his shot before looking towards the brunette girl. "I can help blow something up."

"No blowing anything up," Barney said nonchalantly. He'd had to have this conversation with his team far too many times to be considered normal.

"Then how am I supposed to do something 'spectacular and remarkable'?" Sky pouted.

"Gotta catch 'em off guard," Tool's voice floated through the air as he walked into the room from the back, holding onto Sky's steel-tipped boots in one hand. "Gotta do something no one would expect or see coming."

"Why do you have my boots?" Sky asked in confusion, eyeing the tattoo artist.

Tool grinned. "It's your surprise!"

"My surprise… is my boots?"

"Try 'em on," he encouraged, walking over to the girl and placing the boots in front of her. Sky looked around at the other men—who seemed to be just as confused as she was—before she sighed and pulled off her sneakers in order to slide her feet into her boots and laced them up. She frowned when she noticed nothing different with her boots except that she was a bit higher up and looked to the man skeptically. "There's gonna be a little ball, smaller than a marble in the front by your toes. Step on it." Sky frowned and wiggled her toes around before she felt the ball that Tool was talking about in between her big toe and second toe. She stepped on it and immediately a blade popped out from the front of her boot, extending out and shining brightly in the light. Sky's eyes widened before she stepped on the button on the other shoe and watched the same thing happen.

"No," she muttered in disbelief, her face lighting up like the Fourth of July.

"Yes," Tool replied back, grinning as the other men circled around to see the boots. "Step on the button behind your heel.

Without being told twice, she shifted her weight to press down onto the buttons by her heels before another blade popped out the back. She squealed in absolute delight, looking down at the new adjustments made to her steel-tipped boots. "I cut out the bottom of the boots and replaced it with one of my own design that hides the two blades in the front and the back. It's spring loaded and completely controlled by the buttons in the shoes, so all you got to do is step on the button once to send it out and step on it again to retract it back. Since you like to use your kicks often, I thought it would be good to give you more of an edge. Pun intended."

"Oh my God I love it!" She cheered, stepping on the buttons to retract the back blades before she retracted the front ones. She quickly launched herself at the man and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"

"How come she gets the tricked out blade shoes?" Caesar asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because she's prettier than you," Tool retorted before tugging the brunette along towards the tattoo station Gunnar had previously occupied. "Now let's get your tummy pierced while I talk about the jobs."

Sky positively beamed and followed behind him.

"You're spoiling my daughter," Lee called out, as the men started circling around the tattoo station to watch their youngest member get her first piercing.

Tool just chuckled and used clothespins to hold up Sky's shirt while the brunette lounged out on the chair. "So, for this week you've got two pieces of work," the man spoke up, cleaning the girl's belly button.

"Two? What happened to the third?" Barney asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well the third was some rich guy willing to pay you all to find his missing cat."

"Hell to the no," Toll vetoed immediately. "I hate cats."

Sky frowned. "Cats are adorable."

"No matter how adorable cats are, we're not pet detectives," Barney interjected. "Next two."

"The next two pieces of work are pretty different. The first one is heading to some scientists laboratory in India and retrieve information. They weren't specific and they wouldn't give anymore information unless we accept the job," Tool explained, prepping his piercing gun and the dangling diamond cross piercing he'd picked out for the girl. "Deep breath; it'll just be a little pinch." Sky nodded and breathed in deeply as he used the gun to pierce her bellybutton, quickly placing the piercing in and wiping away any blood. It stung a bit, but it was nothing compared to some of licks she'd taken since joining the expendables team.

Yin tilted his head to the side to examine the piercing before pursing his lips and nodding. "Cute."

"Gunnar, hand me a mirror so I can see," Sky asked, looking to the blonde beside her. He quickly obliged and she looked down at the piercing on her belly button and smiled. "I love it."

"It doesn't look bad," Lee admitted begrudgingly. "But you're still not getting a tattoo until you do something remarkable."

"Now for the second piece of work, it's more straightforward. Another band of pirates high-jacked a ship off the coast of Somalia and killed most of the crew. You go in, take out the pirates and save whatever hostages you can," Tool continued speaking, looking to the others in the group.

"So one mission is secretive and leaning more towards Baby-Face's strong suit, though we don't know anything about it unless we accept and the other is more our style and we know everything up front?"

"How much?" Yin asked, looking to the tattoo artist.

"The job in India is a five-hundred thousand. The one in Somalia is two-hundred thousand."

"India pays more."

"But India is also too sketchy," Barney interrupted, shaking his head. "I don't like it. I say we go with Somalia. It pays less, but we know what to expect. And those hostages need us more than the company that wants the information from the scientists. Make the meeting, Tool."

"You got it."

Tool got up and walked to the back to make the meeting with the client while Sky hopped out of her chair to look at the full-length mirror, a smile on her face. She fingered the dangling cross charm now hanging from her bellybutton and noticed her father rolling his eyes in the reflection. "Just you wait, I'm going to do something remarkable and you'll have no choice but to let me get a tattoo," Sky smirked, turning around to look at him.

"I'm sure you will," Lee smiled, walking forward to kiss her forehead. "But until then you stay ink free."

"I'm starving," Caesar complained randomly, ditching his pool stick to start heading towards the kitchen. "You guys want something to eat? I'm cooking."

Without hesitation the group of men started migrating towards the kitchen. It wasn't often that Caesar offered to cook for all of them, so they always made sure to make the most of the times when he felt generous enough to offer. Sky rolled her eyes as she watched the procession of men file out of the room while she removed the clothespins from her shirt and planted herself back at the front desk to watch the shop until Tool finished making his call. She leaned back in the chair and wiggled her toes, smiling down at her boots, pressing the button so her knife came out again before she retracted it. Jensen was going to be _so_ jealous when she showed off her new toes and he'd be surprised when he saw her piercing.

_Ding._

At the sound of the bell above the door, Sky pried her eyes away from her boots to look at whoever entered with a smile on her face. "Hi, can I help—"

All the words died in her throat as she took in the sight of the three military men wearing dress blues, entering the tattoo shop and walking over towards her. One held a folded up flag and dog tags in his hand. Sky's heart stopped as they made it to the desk, the one holding the flag, looking down at her. "Is there a Gunnar Jensen here?"

And just like that, Sky's world was shattered. She stared at the man, not really seeing him as a gaping hole formed in her chest and her heart dropped into the very pit of her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up and pass out at the same time, but she didn't move. Her throat closed up and she could feel tears well up in her eyes. "No…" she muttered, shaking her head, refusing to believe what she was seeing. These soldiers were _not_ here. They were _not_ holding a folded flag and Jake's dog tags. Jake was _not_ dead. He just couldn't be.

"Ma'am, this was the address written for the next of kin of Captain Jacob Jensen."

"N-No…" she muttered again, covering her mouth as a sob broke through, barely holding herself together.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to inform you, but Captain Jacob Jensen was killed—"

Sky lost it.

"NO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting up from her seat and sending the chair crashing into the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears poured from down her face and wrapped her arms around her torso as the gaping hole just grew and grew, making it feel as if she was being pulled apart. "GUNNAR!" She screamed, dropping onto her knees, rocking back and forth. "GUNNAR!"

Sky was vaguely aware of the sound of shouts and loud pounding boots against the floor. She was vaguely aware of someone calling out to her and the soldiers saying something. Only when she heard what could be considered a roar of pain and agony did she look up and see Gunnar dropping to the ground, his eyes fixed on the soldiers in front of them who were extending the flag and dog tags his way. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was shaking his head and sobbing, while Yin crouched down beside him trying to calm him down. Toll was rooted to his spot, unmoving and unblinking. Tool had pulled his hat off and was running a shaky hand through his hair. Caesar looked about a few seconds away from letting loose a few tears of his own while Barney immediately began questioning the soldiers.

The words were lost on her as Sky continued to cry and shake, digging her nails into her upper arms, watching as Gunnar just became more and more unraveled as the flag and tags were placed into his lap. He hugged the two items, fisting the tags and cried harder and louder than she'd ever seen from him before. That just served to shatter Sky's heart even further. Arms wrapped around her and Sky turned to see her father kneeling on the ground beside her, holding onto her. She immediately turned into him and buried her face in his chest, trying to muffle her screams and cries and broken sobs. She had felt this sort of pain before, months earlier when Billy had died. But this was different. This was _so _much worse. Jake was dead.

Her brother was dead.

* * *

The tears had stopped flowing hours ago. And the second the tears stopped flowing, the alcohol started flowing. After the soldiers had left, Barney had managed to calm Gunnar down enough so they could move him to the rooms upstairs with Caesar's help, while Lee just carried Sky up. Once they were all in Gunnar's apartment, the man had started crying once again, hugging onto the flag and rocking back and forth while rubbing his thumb in circles around the dog tags that had once been around his son's neck. No one was sure how long they were in the room, listening to Gunnar's crying and shouts and Sky's broken sobs and uneven breathing. At some point in time, someone had gone out and got bottles of vodka, whisky, tequila, and any other hard liquor they could get their hands on.

No one knew who had done it, but no one complained.

The group of soldiers started drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Gunnar had been downing shot after shot, hoping to wipe away the memory of the day, while Yin only had a few drinks, taking care of watching out for his partner to make sure he didn't kill himself by drinking too much. Barney was on his way to being blasted while Caesar and Toll weren't far behind. Lee had taken a few shots too, but Sky had only taken one before she pushed everything else away from her. She couldn't drink knowing her brother was dead. She couldn't think straight knowing he was gone.

And after a few hours, the Expendables all ended up passed out in random spots in Gunnar's apartment.

When she woke up the next morning, Sky was scared to see that no one else was left in the room. She was in a corner of the room on the floor with a jacket folded underneath her head and a blanket over her. Her hands started shaking, wondering where everyone was when she heard shouting coming from downstairs. She quickly got up and raced down to see what was going on, only to spot a woman with dyed black hair and hazel eyes screaming in the middle of the shop, pointing accusingly at Gunnar.

It took a few seconds for Sky to realize it was Jensen's mom, Victoria.

"You son of a bitch! I knew this would happen! I knew it would fucking happen!" Victoria screamed, shoving Gunnar back. The blonde giant was unsteady on his feet and stumbled backwards. Whether it was due to alcohol still circling through his system or the fact that he couldn't be brought to care about anything anymore, no one knew. "You fucking killed him! You killed him!"

"Victoria, you should go," Barney said firmly, trying to keep the peace while he kept an arm on Gunnar's shoulder, making sure the tall blonde didn't snap and lash out at her. He noticed Toll, Caesar, and Lee all around him, making sure they were ready to jump in if the Swedish man lost his cool, while Yin was standing behind Gunnar, his muscles tensed showing he was ready to pounce if things escalated.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"You shouldn't be here," Lee said a bit more forcefully, tossing a worried look towards Gunnar who had started glaring at the woman.

"This son of a bitch killed my baby!"

"Your _baby?"_ Sky echoed as she walked over to the group. Part of her was surprised by how raw her voice sounded and how hollow her words were. Part of her just didn't care. "You gave Jake up just so you could get high! You have absolutely no right to be here shouting at Gunnar!"

"I loved Jake!" Victoria screamed at the younger woman.

"You just love yourself!"

Victoria reeled back and slapped Sky in the face, the slap echoing through the room and a tension fell upon the group. The men noticed the vicious look crossing her face and realized—a second too late—that they were worrying about the wrong person snapping. The last thing Sky remembered was turning her face to look at Victoria's before everything went red.

* * *

The handcuffs were irritating her wrists and the blood on her neck was starting to bother her, but still she knew why they couldn't let her out yet. From what Yin explained to her when she came to her senses—ending up in the garage, handcuffed with her hands behind her back, seated in a chair—she had apparently gone crazy after Victoria slapped her, punching her in the face—multiple times—before using her nifty new blade boots to do some damage. He and her dad had stopped her before she kicked her in the temple with the blade, but they hadn't been able to stop her from catching Victoria's arm. It had taken half of the group to wrangle her out while Tool took Victoria to the hospital, threatening her with death if she said the truth about what happened.

On normal occasions she would be horrified that she lost her cool and attacked a civilian. She would feel shameful and remorseful, but she didn't. She didn't feel shame. She didn't feel guilt. She didn't feel anything. She felt numb to her very core. She had tried to 'use' her sadness and grief over Jake's death like she had with Billy, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't use it to persevere and move on. The gaping hole in her chest was still there and growing wider and wider with each passing day, forming a black hole that would threaten to engulf her if she wasn't careful, but she didn't care. She couldn't find the energy to care.

"Sky."

Sky blinked once and saw that Gunnar was seated in front of her. When he'd gotten there, she didn't know, but she just stared at him blankly. Somewhere through her haze she could see that his hands were shaking and he wouldn't meet her eyes. The hole in her chest got wider. "Did you start using again?"

"N-No," Gunnar answered shakily, lifting his head up to show her his eyes. They were full of tears, but they were clear. "J-Jake wouldn't want that. And he w-w-wouldn't want this for you. D-Don't shut down."

"I won't," she said, her words hollow, even to her ears. But Gunnar remained silent. It took another twenty minutes before she was released from the hand cuffs by her father. He'd let her know that Victoria needed thirty-two stitches for her arm and that there was only bruising to her face. She hadn't caused any lasting damage. When the cuffs were taken off she had been watched like a hawk by the others and her boots had been confiscated along with all her other weapons until she was better. Sky didn't say anything to the others, but she was sure they already knew. She wouldn't get better. Not when she knew her brother was gone.

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_June 22__nd__, 2013_

It was torture. It was absolute torture and Sky was very much aware of that. Still, she couldn't bring herself to turn off the TV. Every news channel she changed to was still covering the story and when it ended on one channel she changed to a different channel to start the whole cycle again. Different faces and voices repeating the information she couldn't believe but was already starting to memorize. Five US soldiers at the center of a tragedy in Bolivia, costing twenty-five children and three additional soldiers their lives. Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Clay, Captain William Roque, Sergeant Linwood Porteous, Sergeant Carlos Alvarez, and Captain Jacob Jensen all carried out unauthorized military action resulting in a chopper crash, killing all those who were within the transport.

Every station called them baby killers. Every government official swore up and down that the United States did not—and would not—authorize any such military action.

Gunnar couldn't even _look_ at a TV anymore. After nearly a month of the media vultures beating the story to death he knew what they would be broadcasting about his child, about his baby boy, so he avoided it like the plague. Yin had done his best to make sure the blonde giant wasn't unraveling, keeping him distracted and moving around. Toll had doubled up visits to his therapist, hoping to speed up the grieving process. Caesar had gone home to Jenny and the girls cherishing his daughters and comforting them when he broke the news to them. Barney and Tool had thrown themselves into work, trying to keep their minds occupied. Lee spent his time split between Lacy's house—talking through his feelings with her—and trying to keep Sky from spiraling any further out of control.

Sky wasn't so far gone that she didn't realize how worried he was or how much he cared, but she was too far gone to really start changing anything about it. She sat in her room, wearing Jake's old hoodie that he kept in his room that smelt just like him and watched the news feed over and over and over again. She really wanted to hit something, to shoot her guns, but she still hadn't gotten them back since the confiscation. So instead she had thrown herself into anything that related to her brother's death over the last month, watching new reports over and over again to feel the stinging pain in her chest, only briefly chasing away the cold numbing sensation.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: There's gonna be a bit of Spanish in this chapter, but for the most part I explain in the story what the words are through the characters thoughts. However, there's going to be a Spanish translation section at the bottom for anyone who needs it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_September 27__th__, 2013_

After four months Sky was officially off of probation with the others and all of her weapons had been returned to her—only after she went through more than two weeks acting somewhat normal. Still, however, she was benched from their latest mission in Bulgaria to rescue a bunch of Americans stuck in the country. Apparently they were travelling as a part of a church group and they were taken by a group of mercenaries looking to make some fast cash. When Sky had argued that she should go—because she'd been benched from the Somalia mission and another mission to Qatar over the last four months—Barney said that she needed more time to cope and grieve. Gunnar got to go, because Barney knew that the blonde giant needed to get out of the shop and needed to kill something and let his anger out or else he'd become closed off. They had just left the shop for the hangar, leaving her with Tool—since the others didn't seem to trust her enough yet to leave her completely alone. But she wasn't going to just sit still in the shop. It held too many memories.

Sky looked down at the letter in her hands, rereading the heartfelt words that Jolene Porteous had written her. Over the four months that Sky had been benched and on probation, she'd taken to writing the woman. She had remembered that Jake told her Jolene was pregnant so she started writing the soon to be mother to make sure she was okay with everything that was happening. After the first letter, they'd gone back and forth writing one another, talking through their feelings and keeping each other updated with whatever was going on in their life. It was one of the reasons Sky had started to get better.

Sky placed the letter into her backpack. Once she was done packing her backpack—taking out all the nonessentials and placing her weapons, spare clothes, and her wallet and money inside—she laced up her combat boots over her jeans and adjusted Jake's hoodie over her red tank top. Slipping her bag onto her shoulders, she grabbed her phone and her keys and started jogging down the stairs, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Tool asked immediately, looking up from the tattoo he was placing on a biker who'd come in.

"I'm taking a road trip," Sky replied easily, looking over her shoulder and giving her best fake smile. "I'm going to go visit Jolene in Springfield. She should be around nine months by now. I'm gonna go and make sure she's doing okay."

Tool looked conflicted. Obviously he'd been given orders to keep an eye on her, but on the other hand, Sky had a very valid and considerate reason for leaving. And she had been acting normal for the past couple weeks. After a few seconds he sighed in exasperation. "Call me, make sure you're armed, and this never happened. Your dad should get back in two weeks, so be sure to be back before then."

"Got it," she agreed, walking out of the shop and heading towards her car. She tossed her bag into the passenger seat and quickly took off, driving on the highway, heading towards Springfield. Visiting Jolene had been something she'd been thinking about doing earlier in the week. She was concerned for the pregnant woman. She knew how torn up she still was about Jake, and she could only imagine how Jolene was handling her husband's death, especially with the baby so close to being born.

Minutes of driving blurred into hours as she crossed towns and state lines. Occasional stops at gas stations for food and to fill her tank were the only things that broke the unending cycle of driving, with her _Shinedown_ CD creating background noise. She kept her focus entirely on driving. She knew if she let her mind start to wander she'd eventually start thinking of Jake again. So she was laser focused and before she knew it eight hours past and she was parked outside the Porteous home in Springfield, Connecticut. The sun had just started to set by the time she arrived and she spent a few minutes just sitting in her car, looking at the two story home, steeling herself for whatever was to come.

Deciding she waited long enough she climbed out of the car and grabbed her bag before walking up to the front porch of the house. Sucking in a deep breath she rang the doorbell, hearing a muffled 'coming' before the door swung open revealing a beautiful dark-skinned woman. She had tight dark curls around her faces and she was wearing a dress with a large black jacket over her shoulders, a large pregnant tummy peeking out from the dress. Her brown eyes were puffy and red and she had a scrunched up tissue in her hands.

"Hi… can I help you?" Jolene said, trying to keep her voice strong.

Sky immediately wished that she was meeting her under different circumstances. "Hi… I just wanted to come down here and see if you were okay." At the perplexed look she was receiving, Sky realized she was going out of order. "I know that probably sounded weird. I'm Skylar Christmas."

"Oh, Sky!" Jolene exclaimed in surprise with a small smile forming on her face. It didn't quite reach her eyes but the brunette girl appreciated the attempt. She shook her head, almost sheepishly, before opening the door wider. "Sorry, my head's just… please, come in."

"Thank you," Sky smiled, stepping into the house. It wasn't large but wasn't too small. The walls were painted a warm yellow and there were pictures of the husband and wife everywhere. She waited for Jolene to start leading her into the living room, which was an open concept so the kitchen was right next to it. The pregnant woman gestured for her to sit down on the couch in front of the flat-screen where the news feed for the tragedy in Bolivia was playing on mute.

Jolene looked up at the screen self-consciously before looking at the younger girl. "I know it makes no sense, but I just haven't been able to stop watching. I keep hoping that something will change…"

"I know, I've been doing the same thing," Sky admitted with a sigh, looking towards the screen. Over the last few months she had been sleeping less and less, her dreams always plagued by nightmares. So when she couldn't sleep she'd go online or turn on the TV to look over the news article obsessively. In all honesty, if the others knew she did that they probably wouldn't have given her back her guns. "It's been hard these past few months."

Jolene nodded, smiling slightly at the girl gratefully. "It's been easier with someone to talk to. But… I miss Linwood."

"Jake talked about you a lot," Sky said, trying to change the topic to something at least a fraction happier. "He adored you. He called you 'Mrs. Pooch' and he always said that he loved the cookies you made him whenever the team was over. And I just remembered how much he would talk about you and your husband, and I knew I had to come down here to make sure you were okay with the baby coming soon. After you took care of my brother… it was only right I return the favor."

The woman laughed which sounded broken up and as if it were a few seconds away from turning to a sob before she sniffed, wiping at her nose slightly with the napkin in her hand. "Thank you… Jake was a good man. And he was very kind, but at times he was like a little kid. Linwood always said me dealing with him was practice for whenever our baby was born."

"Yeah, that describes Jake perfectly," Sky said trying to keep her own voice even. She felt something start to tighten in her throat before she cleared it and tried to keep her composure. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"No…" Jolene shook her head. "W-We wanted to be surprise so I… I just couldn't bring myself to find out without him. I… I still can't believe this all happened, you know? It's been four months and I still can't process it. When I went to get his dog tags and the flag, I couldn't bring myself to believe it. And with the ring missing, I… I didn't want to believe it."

Sky nodded sympathetically and reached a hand out to grasp Jolene's. "I still can't wrap my head around it either. It's just not something we can—or want to—accept."

Jolene nodded her agreement before a few tears fell from her eyes. Seeing the woman letting a few emotions out, Sky felt tears prickling at her own eyes, but she forced them back to focus on the soon to be mother in front of her. They sat in silence for a while until a timer went off and the woman jumped, looking towards the kitchen before back to the young woman beside her. "That's my chicken. Would you like to stay for dinner?" Jolene offered, pushing herself off the couch awkwardly so she was on her feet. "I… I still haven't gotten used to cooking smaller meals. There's plenty of food for an extra plate."

"Thank you… I'd like that."

Jolene smiled gratefully before she hustled off to the kitchen. Sky offered to help numerous times, but Jolene turned her down every time. She said that she had missed getting food ready for someone else and that it made her seem like things were almost normal. And Sky didn't want to take that small shred of normalcy from the mother to be. It took only a few minutes before she came out to the living room with two plates of food before she doubled back to get water bottles for them. The two ate together, talking about how they'd been and what they'd been up to as they occasionally lifted their gaze to the TV any time one of their loved ones was shown on the screen.

_Ring! Ring!_

Jolene lowered her fork to her plate quickly and swallowed her food, smiling sheepishly at her companion before she got up and waddled over to the kitchen where the phone was resting on the counter. "Hello, Porteous residence?" She answered, though Sky couldn't help but notice her voice catch at her last name. "Hello? Hello?"

Sky raised an eyebrow and looked up at the woman. She was looking at the wall before pulling the phone away from her ear to look at it in confusion. "Was it a wrong number?" The young brunette guessed, looking to Jolene.

The woman hung up the phone and shrugged, staring down at the device in her hand. "Yeah, I guess. It's weird. There have been so many wrong numbers calling my house the past couple months, but they always hang up after a few seconds."

"Are all of these different numbers?" Sky asked in confusion.

"Mhm, all of them are different, but I don't know any of them," Jolene shrugged.

Sky pursed her lips before waving the pregnant woman over to couch. "Just call back and let them know that it's the wrong number and try to figure out who they're trying to call. Trust me, they won't stop calling unless you tell them that," she advised.

Jolene nodded and walked over to the couch, plopping down so she could call the number back. She shoved a spoonful of potato salad into her mouth and chewed it slowly as she held the phone up to her ear. After a few seconds, Sky heard talking on the other end and Jolene's eyes widened slightly. The woman turned to the young brunette. "Do you speak Spanish?" She asked barely above a whisper, with her hand on the receiver.

"Yeah, here, I can talk to whoever it is," Sky assured, lowering her plate and wiping her hands on her napkin before taking the phone and pressing it to her ear. "Hello?"

_"__Qui__é_n es usted? Estaba tratando de llamar a mi hermana!"

The half-Puerto Rican winced at the woman yelling quiet loudly in her ear, about the sister she had been trying to call. _"__Perdon, pero alguien llamo aqui unos minutos atras. Creo que fue un accidente."_

_"__Un accidente? Este es un tel__é__fono publico. Si alguien llamo no fue un accidente."_

Sky frowned, shifting slightly in her seat and adjusting the phone in her hands. She knew that _tel__é_fono p_ú_blico meant 'payphone' or a 'public phone', and if that was true than the woman was right. If someone called them from a payphone, they would've had to know the number. She quickly asked the woman what state she was in. _"__Señora, en qu__é_ estado se encuentra?"

_"__Niña, no estoy en un estado. Estoy en mi pa__í_s, Bolivia." 

Sky's chest tightened abruptly and she quickly hung up the phone, letting it fall onto her lap as she stared at her plate in confusion. "Who was it?" Jolene asked curiously, placing a hand on Sky's arm.

The brunette shook her head, trying to make sense of the call. "That was a payphone in Bolivia. Do you have any friends that might live there?"

Jolene looked perplexed. "No, I don't know anyone who lives there. The only person I know who went to Bolivia was Lin—"

Sky's eyes snapped up to the mute TV that was just showing images of the chopper crash while the blonde reporter moved her lips, saying something the mercenary couldn't hear. Her heart started pounding in her chest and her mind started moving at a mile a minute. "Jolene…" she said slowly, looking towards the woman. She had wide eyes and was looking at the screen like Sky had just been, completely still. "What were you talking about earlier when you mentioned Pooch's ring?"

"H-His wedding ring was missing," she murmured, still looking at the TV. "H-He kept it on his dog tags, but when the soldier on base gave it to me… it wasn't there."

Sky's heart was pounding so hard she could feel her chest vibrating. She looked up at the screen where the battered remnants of the chopper were located in the Bolivia jungle before pictures of the twenty-five kids started flashing up on the screen. Something clicked in her mind. It was something she should've picked up and noticed when she was tormenting herself over the months of watching the news reports, but she hadn't noticed it until then. "Thirty-three," Sky muttered, frantically reaching for her backpack on the ground.

"What?" Jolene asked in confusion.

"Thirty-three," she repeated again, yanking out the tablet that Church had sent to her a few months ago. She quickly turned it on. "What's your Wi-Fi password?"

"It's 'Pooch-Man24'."

Sky paused slightly in order to look up at Jolene with a raised eyebrow before she went back to typing in the password. "I take it that one wasn't your idea."

"Linwood thought it was clever," Jolene shrugged. "What are you looking up? And what does the number thirty-three have to do with anything?"

"According to the reports there should've been thirty-three people in that helicopter. And…" she trailed off as she went to the browser, looking up the information from the tragedy in Bolivia. The second the page loaded and she found the information she was looking for her eyes widened. She typed in another few words before the picture of a helicopter appeared and Sky clicked on the first military site she found. "And the chopper they were using was a UH-60 Blackhawk; an Army transport helicopter used because of its ability to move groups of soldiers and vehicles. Can you rewind live TV?"

Jolene was confused by what the younger woman was saying and why she'd abruptly changed topics before she nodded and grabbed the TV remote. "Yeah, what part do you want to go back to?"

"Go back to the part where it showed all the children and the three other soldiers who were in the crash," Sky muttered. Jolene started rewinding it before the mercenary grabbed onto her arm. "There, right there! Pause it!"

Jolene paused the screen on the pictures of the twenty-five children. The mother to be felt her heart clench at the pictures of all the children while she laid a hand on her swollen stomach. "Sky, why do you want to see this again?"

Instead of answering, Sky was tearing through her bag again, this time pulling out a journal and a pen. She ripped a page out of the book and quickly started scribbling down the names, ages, and genders of all twenty-five children before she asked if Jolene could stop it at the next part with the other three soldiers who had died. She did the same before she started writing numbers off to the side of each name. The ranged from anywhere to 50 to 200 before Sky started writing 'Clay' 'Roque' 'Pooch' 'Cougar' and 'Jake' at the very bottom of the list she started. "How much did your husband weigh?" Sky asked as she wrote a '236' next to her brother's name.

"He weighed around two-hundred and twenty-four pounds," she answered. Without hesitation Sky wrote down the number by Pooch's name before she wrote a '200' by Clay, Roque and Cougar's names. Jolene furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"The UH-60 Blackhawk is designed to carry eleven armed troops in addition to a three man flight crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, and crew chief," the brunette girl started reciting off the information displayed on her tablet as she started doing quick math on the page, carrying numbers over and looking over everything carefully. She absolutely detested math, but this was one instance where it actually proved to be useful. "If we don't consider the three soldiers that comprised the flight crew, the reports are saying there should've been thirty additionally passengers on the helicopter, which is nineteen more than there should be, despite the fact that the additional passengers were mostly children."

Jolene was slowly starting to see what the young woman was doing and her eyes widened, scooting over to look at the paper Sky was working on. "So then what?"

"Then there's also the fact that the UH-60 has an _internal_ lift capacity of 2,600 pounds. I'm taking a ballpark guess as to the weight of each child based on their ages and genders, but for the other soldiers aside from Jake and Pooch, I'm guessing their weight to be around two hundred pounds even," Sky prattled off as she started coming to the end of her problem. The second she got her end result she circled it twice before dropping the pen, her heartbeat now pounding in her ears. She lifted her gaze up from the paper and looked at Jolene with wide eyes. "If all thirty-three individuals were on the helicopter at the same time the weight would've been 2,979 pounds… around four hundred pounds _over_ the internal lift capacity. That's at least two of the men or a handful of the children."

Jolene gaped in shock, her eyes starting to water.

"Your husband was about to be a father and my brother had two nieces whom he adores," the mercenary said, lowering the sheet of paper down and looking at the woman seriously. "They wouldn't have put their lives before a child's. And their team would never leave two of their own men behind."

"T-They were never on the helicopter…" Jolene muttered with her hand flying to her mouth before tears fell over her cheeks. "The phone calls… t-they're alive? Are they alive?"

For a brief instance Sky couldn't answer. Despite the fact that she had just looked up all the information, gone through the math, she couldn't bring herself to say 'yes'. She couldn't say what she desperately wanted to say, because she didn't know if she was reading into things and creating false hope. "It's a possibility," she replied instead, grabbing for her tablet again and scooting closer to Jolene again so their thighs were touching and the tablet was across both of their laps. She picked her hair up so it was away from her face before opening up a new search window, looking up maps of Bolivia.

"Where did the chopper go down?" Sky asked.

Jolene quickly scrambled for the remote and played the TV, listening carefully before she heard it. "It went down in the jungles near the _Madre de Dios_ river basin."

Sky quickly zoomed in on the part of the map by the river basic and saw that there were three small cities closest to the area of the crash site. "Alright… _if_ we're right and they really _weren't_ in the chopper, they would've had to go on foot to the nearest city. There are three options: _Juventud,_ _Creencia,_ and _Desesperac__í_on. Give me some of the numbers that called here over the last few months."

Without hesitation, Jolene grabbed for the phone and started rattling off numbers to the young brunette. She quickly input the numbers to her tablet to get a general area of where they were located before moving onto the next one. After the fifth number, Sky had gotten her answer. "The payphones the numbers belong to all seem to be within _Creencia... _Jolene… I think they're alive."

The sheer happiness and relief that fell across the soon to be mother's face made Sky's heart warm at the sight. She was immediately yanked into an embrace by the older woman and smiled slightly as she was practically crushed to death in the hug. "Alive… they're alive…" Jolene said happily, her voice breaking up at points. She pulled away before looking at the younger woman. "B-But why didn't they call to let us know? They've been gone four months. And if it's my husband calling, why can't he talk to me?"

That was the question the mercenary was wondering as well. Why the hell _didn't_ they call? And in Pooch's case, why didn't he tell Jolene what was going on if it really _was_ him calling? Why did they go on letting everyone else think they were dead for four months? The answer suddenly hit her and she felt sick to her stomach. She looked up at the TV, the screen paused on an image of the parents shouting outside the embassy, screaming and crying for the loss of their children. "They're not calling because they're _supposed _to be dead."

"What?" Jolene asked with worry filling her features. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't think the chopper crash was an accident and I know for a fact that the Losers would never have anything to do with that. Something had to have happened… maybe it had to do with the mission or maybe someone with a grudge out for them… I'm not sure. But I'm going to find out," she announced, quickly standing to her feet, turning off her tablet and tossing it into her bag before reaching for the sleek black smartphone she hadn't touched since she got it months ago.

"How?"

"I'm going to Bolivia."

Jolene pushed herself from the couch with some difficulty and immediately nodded. "I'm going too."

"Jolene, you can't," she said gently, pulling her backpack over her shoulders.

"But Linwood could be—"

"I know you are worried about Pooch, but it's not just him that you've got to worry about. You've got a baby on the way. Let me handle things. If they're out there I swear to you I'll find them."

The woman frowned as tears started pooling in her eyes before she walked over to one of the walls in the room, grabbing a picture frame before prying open the back to grab a picture. She waddled back over to Sky and handed it to her. The young woman looked down at the picture in her hands and saw it was one of Jolene and Pooch. They were in a beautiful park in the winter, holding hands with coats, hats, and gloves on. In Jolene's hand was a bag of baby clothes while Pooch had a cup of something in his. "I-If you find him… give him that picture. And tell him he'd better be home before this baby is born."

"I'll do that," Sky laughed as she started heading for the door. Before she got her hand on the knob, Jolene called out for her.

"Sky! Are you sure you can do this? It could be dangerous."

"I'm sure."

"Okay… then please be careful. I don't want something happening to you too."

"I will… I promise," Sky assured with a smile before she walked out the house and down the porch steps. She got into her car and started it before driving off, not really caring what direction she went in.

Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. Her first thought was to immediately call the Expendables with her new discovery. Jake and the Losers could be alive. They could just be in _Creencia_. She could call them up and tell them the news. She could wait until they got back from their mission in two weeks so they could all swoop in as a force to find Jake and the Losers. But on the other hand, it may all just be one huge coincidence. They could truly be dead and she was finding clues where there were none. And she couldn't give that sort of false hope to Gunnar and the others. She couldn't watch him go through losing Jake again. She had to be sure. So instead of calling the Expendables, she took the phone clutched in her hand and called her only contact.

_"__Hello?"_

"Church, this is Skylar Christmas."

_"__I know, kid. I have caller ID."_

"I need you to get me to Bolivia."

_"…__do I look like United fucking Airlines, to you? I like you kid, but I'm not a taxi service."_

"I don't give a _damn_ about your opinion on the matter," Sky hissed into the phone as she came to a stoplight. "I'm calling in that favor you owe me. Get me to Bolivia and get me some guns to use. I want to be there within the next twenty-four hours."

* * *

Sky's death-grip on the seat of the helicopter hadn't lessened since the start of the flight hours ago. After a bit of cursing and arguing, Church had shown up in Springfield in order to pick her up and take her to Bolivia. He'd packed her a small duffel bag full of four handguns, two assault rifles, spare magazines and a large trench knife. She had stuffed her backpack into the duffel after she pulled out her own knives and her Beretta and concealed them on herself. They'd been flying for around five hours, and she hadn't been able to sleep a wink. Not with Church staring at her the entire time.

"Why do you look like you're about to shit your pants?" Church asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't like heights," she muttered through clenched teeth as they hit another pocket of air, creating some turbulence. She clutched the seat tighter, her knuckles going white before she exhaled loudly. "And lately I'm not too fond of planes or helicopters either."

"And you decided to get on a helicopter anyway," he deadpanned.

"It's worth it as long as I get there."

Church crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "So, you gonna tell me what this is all about now, kid?"

"No," she answered simply. "And you're not gonna tell the others I'm here."

"You're going behind the backs of the other little rascals?" He asked, his face growing amused. "Well now I'm just dying to hear the story behind this."

"I've got my reasons."

"Do they have anything to do with Jacob Jensen dying in Bolivia four months ago?" Church said. Her jaw clenched and he nodded. "I thought so. Whatever you wanna do kid, just get it done fast. Call me when you need me to come by to pick you up and don't worry about this being your favor. As far as I'm concerned, flying you around in a chopper isn't equivalent to saving a life."

Sky blinked slightly in surprise before she nodded. "Thank you."

"Sir, we're coming up on the landing site!"

Church looked over to the pilot briefly before he sighed and pushed himself up into a standing position to hold onto the bars on the ceiling of the chopper. "Alright kid, this is your stop."

Sky nodded and slowly started to release her grip on the chair as the chopper started to descend. Only when it finally touched down did she stand up and grab her duffel bag, strapping it across her chest. As she walked towards the door, Church grabbed her arm, forcing her to look his way. "Whatever it is you're here for… good luck kid."

"Thanks," she smiled before climbing out of the chopper. She was immediately hit with the hot and humid climate even though it was night. She ran a good distance from the helicopter and watched as it slowly started to climb back into the air and disappeared from sight. She was within ten minutes walking distance of _Creencia _and once she was in the city she'd have to start her search the old fashioned way. She'd have to walk up to people with pictures and ask for help. She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for more sleepless nights before she started walking.

* * *

Translations:

_"__Qui__é_n es usted? Estaba tratando de llamar a mi hermana!"(Who are you? I was trying to call my sister!)

___"__Perdon, pero alguien llamo aqui unos minutos atras. Creo que fue un accidente." (_Sorry, but someone called her a few minutes back. I think it was an accident.)

_"__Un accidente? Este es un tel__é__fono publico. Si alguien llamo no fue un accidente." (_An accident? This is a payphone. If someone called it wasn't an accident.)

___"__Señora, en qu__é_ estado se encuentra?" (Ma'am what state are you in?)

_"__Niña, no estoy en un estado. Estoy en mi pa__í_s, Bolivia." (Girl, I'm not in a state. I'm in my country, Bolivia.)

Also, the cities _Juventud,_ _Creencia,_ and _Desesperac__í_on translate into 'youth', 'belief', and 'desperation'.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Creencia, Bolivia_

_September 28__th__, 2013_

Downing another shot, Jensen sat at the edge of his bed and looked down at the pictures in his hands. After the chopper crash, the Losers had hiked to the nearest city, _Creencia,_ and tried to lay low. Pooch had gotten a job as a mechanic at one of the local shops while he and Cougar had managed to get jobs at a doll factory. Clay and Roque spent most of their time—and money—gambling or hustling trying to find simpler solutions to make a large amount of money so they could get out of their situation faster. He'd just gotten back from his shift at the doll factory while Cougar had decided to pick up an extra shift. Jensen had volunteered to stay too, but the sniper had told him to go back to the hotel when he started to fall asleep at his station.

Now that he was in his room, however, he couldn't sleep.

Looking down at the pictures of himself and Sky and himself and his dad, he felt tears fall from his eyes. It had been four months since they'd gone off the grid. He knew they had to have gotten the news of his 'death' already. He couldn't imagine how they were taking it. He wished he could be there. He wished he didn't have to hide in Bolivia until they could scrounge up enough money to get home. He wanted his family. And he knew that he wasn't the only one. Pooch had gone around to nearly all the payphones in _Creencia_ and called his home just to listen to his wife's voice before hanging up religiously for the four months they were 'KIA'. They were all homesick.

And they were all still haunted by the deaths of those twenty-five children. Every time Jensen thought of it, he wanted to throw up. He'd go to sleep some nights and he'd see their happy faces before he saw their charred bodies lying on the grass and metal.

Pulling off his glasses he rubbed at his eyes and laid the pictures on his bedside table. He knew he couldn't stay up and torment himself with the thoughts. He had to get up the next morning for an early shift at the doll factory with Cougar. So he sprawled out on his bed and stared up at the ceiling before closing his eyes, praying for a better tomorrow.

* * *

_Creencia, Bolivia_

_September, 29__th__, 2013_

Days like today Jensen wished he'd actually paid closer attention in Spanish class; or at the very least had a Spanish translator app on his phone. He was seated in his spot at the doll factory—in the dress station, putting red and white polka-dot dresses on the blonde dolls—while everyone else around him were talking in Spanish, shouting to keep above the music they were playing to keep up spirits. Cougar was as silent as always, just whistling a tune as he tested the dolls to make sure the sound box worked before he passed them over to the hacker. Occasionally someone—one of the girls—would run up to him, ask him something in Spanish and run away giggling at his answer. He was able to get the gist of what type of conversations Cougar was having—because even if he didn't know much more than basic conversational Spanish he could tell when a girl was flirting in any language… well, most of the time anyway. But the other conversations going around them were harder to pinpoint.

He heard _'fiesta'_ and _'cumpleaños'_ tossed around a couple times, so he just assumed there was a birthday party, but he wouldn't be asking until he and Cougar finished their shift. He didn't want to be there longer than they had to. Just when they were finishing up their shift, another one of the girls walked up to Cougar, practically sitting in his lap as she asked him something. He stopped his whistling and looked to the hacker with a raised eyebrow.

"Pepito's birthday is tomorrow. There is going to be a party."

"Ooh, I love parties," Jensen smiled as he attached the dress he was working on.

Cougar nodded and turned back to the woman, telling her something in Spanish that Jensen was able to pick up as a confirmation before she pecked him on the lips and walked away as if it was completely normal. The hacker pouted, wondering why _he_ never got that sort of treatment. If he had his wing-woman with him, he'd—

Jensen felt his stomach tighten as he thought about his sister. His mood took a nose dive and he frowned as he tried to push the thoughts out of his head.

"Jensen."

The hacker jumped at the voice by his ear before he looked up to see Cougar getting up from his station and grabbing his shirt to pull it over his head. He jerked his head towards the clock on the wall. It was time for them to head back. Sighing in relief, the blonde finished his last dress before walking out with the sniper and down the streets to head back towards their hotel. Jensen wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and try and relax his mind. As soon as he and Cougar arrived at the hotel, however, Clay and Roque were in the middle of a debate while Clay smelled suspiciously of alcohol and smoke.

"Jensen," Clay said the second they walked through the door, zeroing in on the hacker. "I need you to run a background check on a woman."

"Aw, really? Another girlfriend? I know you probably have been feeling lonely and everything, but I don't enjoy doing background checks on every girl it is you want to date, because newsflash, they're all crazy. Maybe you should try online dating. It might end up better for—"

"She said she can give us information on Max."

Jensen blinked. "Oh…"

"Get on that before you get some sleep, alright?"

The hacker sighed realizing he wouldn't be getting much sleep or relaxation like he wanted. He nodded and caught the small pocket camera that his CO tossed him before heading to the room that he shared with the sniper. He pulled out his laptop and started running the background check on the _extremely _hot girl. He had no idea how long he was at it, but Cougar suddenly showed up in the room with food and a soda for him. He thanked his friend and ate and drank at a slow pace while his attention was drawn to his task. The second he was done compiling the list, he finished scarfing down the rest of the food and chugged the rest of his soda. He transferred the information to his PDA and changed into his sleep clothes—vaguely aware that Cougar was already in his own bed—before he fell face first on his bed and passed out.

* * *

_Creencia, Bolivia_

_September 30__th__, 2013_

After nearly two days of searching non-stop, Sky was starting to lose hope. She'd been all around _Creencia_, showing Jake's picture and asking anyone she could get to listen to her if they'd seen him. She had cut down on meals so she could have more time to search and she'd only get away with sleeping two hours a day so she'd have even more time. But going back and forth all around the city was starting to take its toll on her and her confidence in finding her brother was starting to dwindle. She rubbed at her eyes and adjusted the backpack on her shoulders, holding tightly onto the picture in her hand. She looked up at the car garage in front of her and decided it was as good a place as any.

She walked in and looked around, spotting a few men working on different cars in the shop before she headed towards the front desk where a man was sitting. He stood as she approached and smiled at her. She didn't even attempt to look friendly. She was too tired for that. "Do you speak English?" She asked, not in the mood to try speaking in Spanish. At his nod she continued. "I'm looking for my brother. His name is Jake Jensen. Have you seen him?" Sky asked, showing him the photo of her brother.

The man frowned slightly and took the picture from her hands. She had half a mind to rest her head on the desk for a few seconds, but she chased the thought away. _"__El rubio!"_

Sky's eyes lifted back up to the man, her eyes widened slightly as the man stared at the picture with a smile on his face. "You know him?"

_"__Claro que si!_ Of course! He comes in with my worker, Pooch!"

Immediately all traces of exhaustion were wiped away from her system. "Pooch? Pooch works here?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "He takes the day off today."

"He took the day off? Do you know where he lives?"

_"__Perdon,_ but no," the man replied with a shrug. "But your brother, he works in the doll factory."

"Doll factory?" Sky asked in confusion. She vaguely recalled passing by a large factory on the opposite side of town. "Can you give me directions?"

"Of course," the man said, reaching under the desk to pull out a map and a black sharpie. He spread the map across the desk and Sky immediately leaned in to see what he was doing. "We're here," he said, circling a spot on the city map showing their current location. He drew a line, going through streets, turning corners, before he made a star at a building nearly half an hour walking distance away from the garage. "Doll factory here."

_"__Gracias_, you have no idea how much I appreciate this," she thanked, gathering the map before rushing out of the garage. The second she got out of the garage she folded up the map so she could see it in a more manageable way and started sprinting down the street, following the directions the man had given her. The sun was beating down on the city, making it impossibly hot. Her head felt foggy from lack of water, food, and sleep and her body was tired as she ran down the street, taking a sudden corner. But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Her brother was more important than she was right now. When she found him then she could rest.

By the time she made it to the doll factory—twenty one minutes later—she was doubled over, breathing heavily in the front portion of the factory. The woman who was working the desk was asking her repeatedly in Spanish if she was okay, but she couldn't answer. She panted and tried to suck as much air in as possible and tried to ignore the dizziness she was feeling. "Speak… English?" Sky managed to pant, walking over to the counter to grab onto it so she could stand up straight.

"Yes, English," the woman nodded fiercely, placing a hand on Sky's hand. "Are you alright?"

"Fine…" she muttered before fumbling in her pocket for her brother's picture. "Jake Jensen… here?"

The woman—who's name-tag read Lola—grabbed the picture before her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, Jake! He's here! Do you need him?"

"Brother," she said, finally starting to catch her breath. "He's my brother."

Lola smiled and nodded. "Wait here. I get him."

Sky nodded as the woman walked into the back room before she leaned her head on the counter, relishing in the cool feeling on her forehead. She let her eyes close slightly and she almost felt herself drift off before she heard the sounds of conversation in Spanish, heading towards her. She lifted her head up to see Lola with a woman wearing a small pair of shorts and a tank top with her short hair picked up at the sides. "Jake no here," the woman answered. "He left with Cougar."

Sky's hope sank. "Do you know where?"

"They went to _el cementerio._"

"The cemetery?" Sky asked in confusion and despair. She had passed the cemetery on her first day in Bolivia and that was all the way on the other side of _Creencia_. She shook her head and sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she'd have another long run ahead of her. _"__Gracias,_" she muttered before turning to the door.

_"__Espera niña,_ I'll take you," the woman offered, giving her a small smile. "You look tired. I drive you."

Sky smiled tiredly at the suggestion. _"__Gracias."_

* * *

Jensen kept his hands to himself as the bike bumped around along the street, not daring to touch the woman sitting in front of him. He fidgeted a bit, not sure exactly what he was supposed to do. After he and Cougar explained they had to leave Pepito's birthday party early, Cougar had charmed Valeria and Sonya to give both of them a ride to the cemetery. Looking over to the sniper sitting on the back of the bike just next to theirs, he saw that he was pressed up against Sonya's back with his hands at her waist. The blonde however would _not_ be following his friend's lead. He wasn't sure how Valeria would react so instead he kept his hands on the seat just as they pulled into the cemetery, spotting Clay, Roque, and Pooch waiting for them, leaning against a few headstones underneath a tree. Pooch shot them a look as soon as they were within range.

"I'm sorry we're late," Jensen said as soon as the girls stopped the bikes, allowing the two men to get off. "There was a party at the doll factory. It was Pepito's birthday." Cougar pressed a kiss to Sonya's lips in thanks for the ride. The hacker started moving towards Valeria to do the same, but Cougar got there first, kissing the woman before smacking her ass as she took off on the bike with her friend. Jensen pretended he didn't hear his friends chuckling and moved to stand near them, holding his jacket loosely in his hands. Cougar walked in front of him, tipping his hat with a smirk on his face, before Jensen started talking. "So… she wanted to meet in a cemetery. That's not like foreboding at all."

"Am I the only one that sees his shirt?" Roque spoke up after a few seconds of staring at the bright pink 'Go Petunias!' shirt that the hacker had on.

"Nah," Pooch said, staring at the shirt as well.

Jensen noticed the looks and smiled. "Oh, this is my nieces soccer team; eight and under. I checked their scores online and I—" He cut himself off noticing the looks his was getting. Clay shook his head and started walking off with a chuckling Cougar behind him and Roque and Pooch rolling their eyes as they followed their CO. "What? They're in the playoffs!" Jensen shouted. He pouted slightly before running to catch up with them. They could hate on his shirt all they wanted. He was wearing it in support of Haley and Celia and he didn't care what they thought. But, he still put on his jacket anyway.

"What do you have on her?" Clay asked as they walked through the cemetery, weaving in between headstones and graves.

Jensen quickly pulled out his PDA to pull up the information he had found the night before and started reciting it off. "Besides a pant-busting crush? Her company file is blank. CIA has a standing kill order on her… as does Hamas; pretty much everyone aside from PETA wants this chick amscrayed."

"You think you're thinking clear on this?" Roque asked, falling into step beside his CO. "Huh? Cause every time you mess up, its cause of a woman—"

"Name one time," Clay challenged.

"Amber."

"Amber wasn't the problem, Amber's _husband_ was the problem," Clay clarified, stepping over a headstone.

"Amber's husband wasn't the one who shot you," Pooch pointed out.

"It was only in the leg."

"What about Emma?" Jensen put in.

Clay was starting to regret challenging the topic. "Emma doesn't count. I didn't sleep with Emma."

"No, cause she put a bomb in your car!" Roque reminded, shaking his head.

"…alright, I admit that did take a little romance out of the relationship."

Roque rolled his eyes. "Yeah, now this chick shows up and… what's her name? Aisha? And she burns down a hotel."

"I'm clear, Roque," Clay assured as they came to a stop underneath the tree that Aisha had told Clay to meet her at. The sun was starting to disappear behind the sky, leaving only a few hours of sunlight left.

"You better be, cause I ain't getting killed by no girl," the knife fanatic grumbled as he sat down on a headstone.

"It's been a long time since anyone called me a girl." The Losers all turned to see Aisha standing behind them. She was wearing a pair of jeans, black boots, a blue shirt, and a scarf with a bag strapped across her chest and her hair pinned back at the sides. She smiled at them, before moving forward, ignoring the fact that the other four men were staring her down. She looked up to Clay and smirked. "She put a bomb in your car?"

"She was volatile," was his response, before he started gesturing towards the group, pointing to each man in turn. "Aisha, this is Jensen, Pooch, Roque, and Cougar."

Aisha tried to hide her amusement at the group. "Really?" She asked before pulling out a file and placing it on the headstone next to Roque. "Gentlemen, in ninety-seven hours Max will be in Miami. He travels in an armored column with at least thirty private security armed to the teeth," she started explaining as Cougar got up to grab the folder, still staring her down skeptically, before he went back to the headstone he'd claimed as his seat, looking through the file. "You have a better shot at kidnapping the President. Good news for you is I have the power to get you guys back in the US and fund the entire op as you see fit. You get Max and we're square."

"And why should we believe you?" Roque asked, toying around with the knife in his hands.

"Because I'm the first person you've met that even admits he exists," she retorted. No one said anything. "Listen, you guys can all stay here in Bolivia and rot or you can go home and get revenge on the man who framed you. It's your choice."

"Colonel?" Jensen spoke up, looking to his CO to see what he would say.

"Don't call me that," Clay said in response to their youngest member, taking care to keep his tone even. "We're not soldiers anymore."

Pooch stood up and looked at their CO. "Okay, you know that if we do this we'll be waging a war against the Central Intelligence Agency."

"They started it," Cougar spoke up, looking determined and tossing the file back on the headstone by Roque.

"So… are we in agreement here?" Aisha asked looking around the group.

Cougar nodded, looking towards the others. Pooch sighed and muttered under his breath before he gave a half-hearted nod. Roque rolled his eyes and shook his head, but said 'yes' and Jensen gave an enthusiastic 'yes ma'am' before Clay clapped his hands together. "We find Max and we take him down."

"Perfect," Aisha smiled. "Now, let's go somewhere less public so we can all discuss my plan." The men all started getting up and dusting their pants off, waiting for their new bank girl to lead the way. They had only gotten a few steps before a shout had them all pausing and Jensen freezing in his place.

"Jake!"

All the muscles in Jensen's body tensed at once and his heart skipped a beat. He was suddenly hyper aware of the blood pumping through his veins and his breathing. He noticed the others turning around and looking at something behind them, but he didn't need to turn to know who it was that screamed. He would know that voice anywhere. But it couldn't be real. Turning around to look behind them he felt as if the wind was knocked out of him. Standing just a few yards away, dressed in a pair of jeans, combat boots, red tank top with a hoodie—that looked suspiciously like one of his—tied around her waist and a backpack over her shoulders was Sky. Her hair was picked up in a high pony-tail, her eyes were wide and it didn't seem like she was even moving. He felt like he was ready to cry. It shouldn't have been possible. She shouldn't have been there. She couldn't have known that he was still alive after four months. But there she was. His sister had found him.

"Sky!" He shouted, ignoring his friends and taking off towards her.

Sky was rooted to her spot. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. No matter how much she hoped and prayed and believed she was right, she didn't think she'd actually find him. She didn't think she'd actually see him again. And there he was, wearing the bright pink 'Go Petunias!' shirt, his eyes were still bright blue and his hair still a golden blonde and she just couldn't believe it. Jake was alive. He was really alive. Her body moved on its own accord, running through the cemetery and hurtling over headstones as her brother did the same thing. She ran as fast and as hard as she could before throwing herself into her brother, wrapping her arms around his neck as he grabbed her, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"Y-You're alive… you're really alive…" she muttered, grabbing onto the back of his neck and burying her face into her shoulder as tears fell down her face. She wanted to ask him if he was alright. She wanted to ask him what was happening. She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to tell him she loved him and to never scare her like that again, but all words escaped her and all she could do was cry and sob loudly into his chest as he rubbed her back in circles, kissing her hair.

"It's okay. I'm alive. I'm alive. Don't' cry, Sky. Hey, look at that, I rhymed," he said trying to calm her down. Sky cried harder. He held her tighter, not at all minding that she was ruining his Petunias shirt and that he'd have to wash it whenever he got the chance. He'd been so homesick. He'd missed his family. He'd prayed to God for a better tomorrow and to see his family and she popped up out of nowhere and was in his arms again. Sending up a thanks to the big man upstairs, he kissed her hair again, happy to have his sister with him.

The other Losers watched in surprise, looking on as their hacker hugged the beautiful young woman who was crying her eyes out in his embrace. They couldn't hear anything they were saying—nothing except the loud sobs—but they still watched. "I don't believe it," Roque muttered, shaking his head.

"Who is she?" Aisha asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at the scene before looking back at the other men curiously.

_"__Su novia,"_ Cougar responded.

"That's Jensen's girlfriend," Clay said again, even though the sniper had clarified it for Aisha.

Pooch shook his head in confusion. "How'd she find us?"

"Don't know," Clay muttered, watching as Jensen took her tear-streaked face into his hands and started telling her something that they couldn't catch. "But I'll tell you what. However she did it… she's one remarkable woman. Cougar, get Jensen and Sky and tell them we've got to move to talk about the plan. We can ask her how she got here then."

The sniper nodded wordlessly and moved forward, catching the tail end of Jensen trying to calm the sobbing woman down. It seemed to be working somewhat, before Cougar stopped at Jensen's side and cleared his throat. Immediately two pairs of eyes were looking his way, one set bright blue while the others were a watery brown. "We have to move," he said lightly, looking from the blonde hacker to the brunette woman. He noticed she was looking at him and before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around his neck in a tight hug, her body pressed against his. His eyes snapped open in surprise, shooting a look towards Jensen before he hugged her back slightly, wondering why he'd just gotten hugged by the girl, no matter how cute she was.

When she pulled back she wiped at her eyes and gave her a sheepish and happy smile. "I-I'm sorry… I'm just… I'm glad you're alive too. I'm glad you're all alive."

Cougar let a smile form on his lips at her answer before grabbing at her upper arm gently, while Jensen flanked her on the other side, mirroring his actions as they pulled her along towards the group. "C'mon Sky," Jensen said happily, a large smile on his face that was practically blinding. "Time to meet the other Losers!"


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Okay, to clear up a couple things that I noticed you guys pointing out regarding the others thinking that Sky is Jake's girlfriend. The Losers originally thought that Sky was Jensen's girlfriend because of events that happened in 'The Kids Are Alright'. When Jensen dropped Sky's picture in Seychelles, they other Losers automatically thought that they were dating instead of brother and sister and they didn't question it because they were on the middle of a mission and had other things to worry about. Jensen never brought it up, because they never mentioned it. Sky _was_ mentioned by Cougar _after_ their mission from Seychelles. And when Jensen was in the middle of telling Cougar that he was going to set him up with Sky, he received the phone call that his father was shot. So he went off to New Orleans without ever explaining it to anyone. And whenever Jensen mentioned Sky they all assumed they were talking about his girlfriend, while Jensen assumed they _knew_ it was his sister because they already said the knew about her. And when Gunnar and Yin went to visit the Losers after Jensen was shot earlier in the story, Jake said that Yin was his sister's martial arts instructor, but he never explicitly said 'Sky' was his sister. And since Gunnar and Yin referred to Sky as 'Baby-Face' the others just assumed they were talking about a person they hadn't met. So, essentially I'm going off the idea that Jensen thinks the Losers already know about Sky while the Losers actually think the two are dating instead of brother and sister. And this actually will be a pretty big point in the Losers arc of the story. I hope that clarified things!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Creencia, Bolivia_

_September 30__th__, 2013_

Clay kept his eyes fixed on his hacker and the young woman, observing the entire situation with a critical eye. After Sky had hugged all of the Losers—Roque looking like he had enjoyed it a tad too much—upon seeing them all alive and well, they had all gone to a motel that Aisha had been staying in. Sky had been sandwiched in between Cougar and Jensen the entire time, holding onto their arms as if she were afraid they'd disappear if she let go. Neither man seemed to be bothered by her clinginess—Jensen seemed like he was about to burst from joy while Cougar had a smile on his face the entire walk over. And now she was seated on the edge of the bed, sipping lightly at a soda Jensen had run out to get for her while said blonde was seated on the floor beside her. Pooch was in a chair by the wall; Aisha was sitting down in a chair she had pulled over to the bed, while Clay, Roque, and Cougar all were standing in various positions in the room. Roque was by the door, Cougar was by the window, and Clay was stationed near the bathroom. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked to the young woman. He was happy for Jensen that his girlfriend had shown up, but he was more than a little curious as to _how_ she'd shown up.

"Sky, you mind explaining to us how you got here?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A helicopter," she replied with a small smile as she sipped at her Sprite again.

"A helicopter?" Jensen piped up, craning his head to look up at his sister with a raised eyebrow. "You hate heights." She just shrugged in response.

"How'd you know they were still alive?" Aisha cut in, looking at the brunette.

Sky looked back towards her, internally wondering who she was—since they all kinda bypassed the introductions phase when she started hugging everyone—and turned back to look at the other men before explaining. "A lot of things about the crash didn't make sense. I just put the pieces together in order to figure it out."

"You pulled a Sherlock?" Jensen grinned, nudging her leg.

"There would be no Sherlock without a Watson," she replied with a grin, before looking up towards Pooch. "My Watson was your wife."

Pooch immediately sat up straight in his chair, eyes wide. "Jolene? You talked to Jolene? Does she know I'm alive? Is she alright? How's the baby?"

"Jolene and the baby are both fine. She looks like she's due in a week or two," she answered, before standing up and reaching into her pocket to pull out a folded picture. She walked over to the transpo man and handed it to him with a smile. "She told me to give this to you if I found you and tell you you'd better be home before the baby was born."

He wasted no time in taking the picture and looking at it before a smile formed on his face and tears threatened to start falling from his eyes. He looked up at the brunette in front of him and nodded his thanks before kissing the picture and putting it in his chest pocket. "How did Pooch's wife help you figure out we were alive?" Roque questioned, cleaning his nails with one of his knives.

"The payphone calls Pooch made to Jolene," she started off, walking back over to the bed to grab her soda before she sat back down, looking around at the group. "I had gone to check on Jolene a few days ago because she was so far along in her pregnancy. I wanted to make sure she was alright, so I took a trip up to Springfield. While we were eating dinner, Pooch called from one of the payphones. He didn't say anything of course, and Jolene thought it was a wrong number, so I called back. A woman picked up and told us that it was a payphone in Bolivia. And since the only people we knew that were in Bolivia were you five, things just started to fall into place. The chopper that crashed just wasn't large enough to carry all of you and I knew Jake would never put himself before a child, so I guessed you guys weren't on the chopper. Then we traced the phone numbers of the payphones to _Creencia_, which is one of the three cities surrounding the _Madre de Dios _river basin where the chopper went down. It was just a hunch really."

"It was a hunch that brought you and the guys down to find us," Jensen put in proudly, hitting her ankle slightly. "So where are the others? Are they around the city or what?"

Sky bit her lip. "No, they're not around the city," she muttered, taking a large gulp of her soda.

"Then where are they?"

"…Bulgaria."

"Bulgaria?" Jensen repeated in surprise. "What do you mean they're in Bulgaria? Why would they be in Bulgaria when you're—" The blonde noticed the guilty look his sister was wearing and his eyes narrowed. "Skylar Christmas, do not tell me you came here by yourself."

"Okay, then I won't."

"Sky! How could you come here without back-up?! You could've gotten hurt or—"

"Or _died_?" Sky cut in, glaring down at her brother. The room suddenly filled with tension as the siblings locked glares. "Oh, I'm sorry, that's right, only _you_ can do that. The others were _already_ on a mission by the time I pieced everything together, and I wasn't going to call them back. And you have _no_ idea how messed up Gunnar was. He slept in your room crying into your pillow for the first two months straight, while Yin tried to coax him out of there. I wasn't sure if I was right and there was no way I was gonna give your dad that sort of false hope if I wasn't sure. I wasn't going to make him relieve your death again if I turned out to be wrong."

Jensen immediately looked guilty and frowned up at her. "Is he alright?"

"He wasn't doing too hot, which is why Barney set up the mission. He needed to let some anger out." She smiled slightly before looking up at the others. "But that's going to change when I get you all back home."

"You can get us home?" Roque asked, pausing in cleaning his nails to look up at the brunette. He cast a glance at Aisha and Clay before he looked back towards Sky. "You can get us back stateside?"

She nodded. "I can get you boys home."

"There's no need," Aisha put in, standing up so she could pace around the room and so she could see Sky's face. "I'll be getting them back home and I'll be helping them get revenge on the man who framed them."

"So it was a set-up?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow, gazing towards Clay. At his nod she frowned. "I figured as much. But I can get you guys back without much of a hassle."

"I'm getting them back stateside," the Bolivian woman retorted.

"Our CIA handler Max set us up and tried to kill us. Aisha is going to help us take him down," Clay added on with a nod, shooting a grateful smile towards the brunette on the bed. "We appreciate the offer, but we've already got a way back into the states."

Sky narrowed her eyes slightly before standing up, turning her back on Clay and Aisha in order to look at Roque, Pooch, Jensen and Cougar. "Do the rest of you boys feel that way? With one phone call I can get you all out of here."

Aisha snorted. "I already said—"

"I wasn't asking you," she cut in immediately, not even turning around to look at the woman. "I was asking _them_. I didn't come here for you. I came here for him," she said, pointing to Jensen. "I came for him," she said, this time pointing to Pooch. "I made a promise to his wife to bring him back and I came for Roque, Clay, and Cougar too. I came to bring them back. Whatever _they_ decide, I go with. Not you. Roque?"

The demolitions specialist looked up at the brunette woman before looking over her shoulder towards Clay. As much as he wanted to take her up on her offer, he couldn't leave Clay behind to get killed. He had served with him too long to just abandon him now. "Thanks, but someone's gotta watch out for Clay."

Clay smiled gratefully.

"Pooch?"

"He killed kids…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "We can't just let him get away with that."

Sky turned her attention to the silent sniper by the window. "Cougar?"

Cougar looked her way and gave a shake of his head and an apologetic look. _"__Lo siento."_

She gave him a nod before looking down to her brother on the floor. She didn't even need to ask him to know what he was thinking. He looked up at her and sucked in a deep breath. "You know I can't. If I asked you to leave your dad and the others on a mission, would you?"

She wouldn't.

"See?" Aisha pointed out with a smile on her face.

Sky looked around the room, seeing the faces of determination they were all wearing before she sighed and nodded. "Alright, if you guys are dead set on this, there's nothing I can do but help you out."

"Whoa wait a second," Clay cut in, frowning and shaking his head. "I appreciate that you want to help, but this is going to be dangerous. We can't have you tagging along."

"So the Bolivian Barbie over there gets to help, but I can't?" Sky asked with a narrowed stare, looking at Clay with her lips quirking up slightly. "Are you choosing favorites Colonel?"

"We can't have a civilian on this mission."

Immediately Sky's eyebrows shot up and her expression went from amused to confused within seconds. She looked around the room, seeing that all the other men had looks of concern on their faces as well. Cougar was staring at her before turning his gaze down to Jensen and back up again. Why, she didn't know, but after seeing their expressions, it dawned on her why exactly they didn't want her to tag along. They didn't know she was a mercenary. They just thought she was some random girl. "Civilian… Jake, you didn't tell them about me, did you?" Sky asked, looking down to her brother in amusement.

Jensen grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "It might have slipped my mind."

"Oh this should be entertaining," she grinned before looking around the room. "Don't worry, I can handle myself. Besides, you're gonna need an extra gun."

Clay looked like he was about ready to argue but, Jensen beat him to the punch. "Clay, trust me. She can handle it. Besides, we can't just get rid of her. Well… I mean we _can_, but I'd totally be against it and probably handcuff us both together so then if you got rid of her, then you'd have to get rid of me too and that would be—"

_"__Fine_," the Colonel cut into Jensen's ramblings. "She goes with us. But you're responsible for anything that happens to her."

Jensen beamed.

Sky looked around her at the men and smiled. "So… what's the plan?"

"The plan is simple," Aisha spoke up walking so she was in the center of the room so everyone could see her. "You boys are going to be flown over to the states in coffins under the pretense that your bodies were finally recovered and released back to the US. I'll be escorting your bodies back as an FBI agent," she explained before looking towards the only other female in the room. "Sky, you'll be in a coffin as well and—"

"Yeah, no," she interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't do well in tight spaces. I'll be with you posing as an FBI agent." Aisha opened her mouth to argue, but Sky smiled sweetly. "Unless you don't want me to be out of the coffin because there's something you'll want to be doing?"

All eyes landed on Aisha. The Bolivian stared at Sky, almost as if she wanted to glare, but knew she couldn't in that situation, before she smiled just as sweetly as Sky had. "Of course not, I'll be more than happy to have you with me."

"I'm sure."

"It's just that I don't know how you'll get an FBI badge and fake credentials so quickly."

"I can take care of that!" Jensen piped up. Aisha narrowed her eyes slightly.

Sky smirked. "Perfect."

* * *

_Creencia, Bolivia_

_October 1__st__, 2013_

Staring at the coffins they were supposed to climb into, Jensen was starting to have some second thoughts. The five coffins were lined up in the back of the truck Aisha had managed to find. They were all open and empty, waiting for them to climb in. He felt his heartbeat start to pick up, realizing they were going to have to spend two hours driving to _La Paz_ and then a nearly six hour flight to the US/Mexico border in the small coffin. He gulped slightly, shifting his bag of weapons and supplies—and _Sky's _bag of weapons that she'd given to him to carry after they retrieved it from the hotel room she'd been staying at—wondering if he was really making the right decision.

"Alright boys, time to get a move on," Aisha clapped her hands together, as she hopped down from the driver seat of the truck and started walking over to them. She was wearing a blue pants suit with heels and her hair up in a stylish bun and her eyebrow piercing removed. Sky hopped down just behind her, dressed in a black pantsuit, a white button up long-sleeve with her hair pinned up at the side, and heels on her feet. They both had fake FBI badges attached to their jackets and aviators hanging from their shirts.

"I don't like this plan," Roque grumbled out, starting to toss the bags into the back of the truck in the spaces around the coffins.

"Hold on, there's a built in bottom to the coffins for you to store your weapons," Aisha pointed out, gesturing towards the bottom. "Stow your weapons there so we don't have to smuggle them on."

"You heard her," Clay spoke up, climbing into the back of the truck to stow his bags in the bottom portion of the coffin that he'd claimed as his own. The others followed his lead, grumbling slightly, while Jensen didn't take a step forward.

Sky walked over to him and nudged his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Say's you," he grumbled, moving forward to climb into the back so he could start stowing his weapons as well. "You get to breathe fresh air."

"There's holes in the coffins so you call an breathe," she pointed out before she climbed into the back, catching the straps Aisha had tossed her way before she too climbed into the back. "Now quit whining and get in." Jensen glared at his sister before gingerly climbing into the coffin, squirming around until he found a comfortable position.

"Jensen, are the comms set?" Clay called out as he climbed into his coffin, reaching towards the comms that were attached to his neck. Pooch was sitting up in the coffin, while Roque was half in and half out, looking like he really didn't want to climb in. Cougar was completely out of the coffin, shifting from foot to foot and staring at it.

"Comms are up!" Jensen said an octave higher than his normal voice. "You know, so in case we're freaking out or suffocating to death you two can hear it," he muttered, looking to Aisha and his sister.

"You won't suffocate," Aisha assured, walking over to Pooch's coffin with one of the straps. "Alright, as soon as you boys are in and set, we're going to have to strap the coffins closed so that security won't try and go through it. Pooch, lay down."

"Oh, no, the Pooch didn't know nothing about strapping them closed!"

"Pooch," Clay said in a commanding tone.

The man whined. "I hate this plan!" He shouted before he leaned back in the coffin while Aisha started closing it.

Jensen gulped and looked up at his sister with puppy-dog eyes. "Please don't make me do this."

"Hey, _I _gave you another option. You _chose_ this," she reminded before she grabbed the top of the coffin. "If you get nervous or panicky, just talk to me and remember to breathe okay?" She started closing the coffin as her brother whimpered. She closed the lid and started strapping it down, ignoring the puppy like whining sounds coming from her brother's coffin. She felt weird just thinking about the coffin as his. She turned back around to see that Aisha was just finishing up with Pooch's and was moving onto Roque's while Clay waited patiently in his coffin. She spotted the sniper still outside of the coffin and frowned. "Cougar, are you okay?"

His eyes snapped up to look at hers and she was reminded—not for the first time—how attractive he was. He had a strong jawline, great physique, and a handsome face, and his cowboy appearance made him look sexier. She noticed that he expressed emotions through his eyes, and looking at his deep brown eyes right then, she could tell he did _not_ want to climb into that coffin. She smiled slightly and walked over to his coffin, motioning towards it. "I know this sucks, but you've got to climb in okay?" He looked at her for a few seconds before nodding and slowly climbing into the coffin, adjusting the cowboy hat on his head so it was tipped over his face slightly before shifting slowly until he was lying down. He was staring straight up from underneath the brim of his hat nervously and she could tell he was panicking just like the others were, though he was trying to appear calm.

"Hey, don't worry too much, okay?" Sky spoke up, crouching down beside his coffin and impulsively laying a hand on his chest. His eyes snapped to her again and she felt her cheeks start to grow warm. She tried to pretend she _couldn't_ feel muscles flexing under the shirt from his breathing and instead gave him the best reassuring smile she could muster. "Everything's gonna be alright. Just trust us, okay?"

"I don't trust her," he retorted immediately.

"Then trust me," she replied. She looked down into his eyes and saw that he still didn't look convinced before she peered around to see that Aisha was busy sealing Clay's coffin, talking to the Colonel about something. Seeing that she was distracted, she reached back with the hand not on the sniper's chest and pulled out one of the knives she had strapped on her body. She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple bandana she kept with her at all times. It was always on her for the same reason she always carried a flask; instant Molotov cocktail. She grabbed the bandana and wrapped it around the knife as a makeshift sheath. She showed it to him before tucking it into the coffin right beside his thigh, well within arm's reach. "I know it's not much, but at least if something goes wrong you have something to work with, right?"

Cougar looked at the knife before looking up at Sky again. He reached his left hand up to cover hers on his chest and gave it a small squeeze, nodding his head with a smile slowly forming on his lips. _"__Gracias."_

_"__De nada. No te preocupes."_

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. _"__Hablas Español?"_

Instead of answering his question she smiled at him. "If you need me or you need to talk or your worried, just call through the comms okay?" He nodded once before removing his hand from hers and tensing, preparing himself for her to shut the door. She missed the warmth from his much larger, calloused hand immediately, but tried not to read too much into it. She removed her hand from his stomach and stood up, closing the coffin and strapping it down. She finished tightening the strap just as Aisha walked over to her.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's get moving."

The drive to _La Paz_ had been done in almost complete silence. The only sounds were Roque complaining occasionally that he was cramping up and Jensen's random moments of absolute terror, where he freaked out, only to have Sky calm him down. Other than that, there was no noise from the back of the truck in the coffins or in the front of the truck with the two women. Once they made it to the airport it took only a small amount of time to flash their badges and get the coffins loaded onto the plane before they took their seats on the small private plane that Aisha had somehow managed to get.

"You look nervous," Aisha commented, looking in front of her to see the brunette who had a death grip on the armrests.

Sky gave a tight smile. "I'm not a fan of heights or flying."

The Bolivian smiled. "It'll be over before you know it."

"I hope," Sky muttered, settling into her seat and tightening her seatbelt again. It was silent once more until the plane took off. She could hear Jensen panicking in his coffin, Pooch cursing Clay in his, Clay pointedly ignoring his team, and something that sounded suspiciously close to snoring from Roque's. Cougar was still pretty silent, which worried the brunette. She reached up and pressed the comms on her neck. "Are you doing okay Cougar?"

_"__Estoy bien,"_ he answered simply.

_"__How come you worry about __**him **__and not __**me**__?" _Jensen whined through the comms.

"Because, unlike you, he hasn't said anything this entire time," she retorted easily, ignoring the whining that immediately followed her response and the 'shut up Jensen, I'm trying to sleep' that came from Roque. She felt exhausted and leaned her head back against the chair, looking up at the ceiling of the plane as it leveled out.

"How long has it been since you've slept?" Sky blinked before looking back at her companion on the flight and saw that Aisha was staring pointedly at her. "There're dark circles under your eyes and you look like you're ready to drop," she observed.

"It's been a while," she muttered, running a hand over her face. "I haven't slept well since Jake's 'death'. And the last time I ate something that filled me up was probably a few days ago."

"Try to eat and take a nap. I'll wake you up before we land."

Flagging down one of the flight attendants, Sky nodded. "I'll eat, but I'm gonna stay up."

Aisha waited as Sky ordered the chicken, steamed rice and vegetables that the attendant offered her. The second the man left she looked towards the brunette. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"No," Sky answered without hesitation. "And you don't trust me either. We can work on that though."

Aisha smiled. "I hope we can."

* * *

_Nogales, US/Mexico Border_

_October 1st, 2013_

"Time to wake the dead," Sky smiled as she and Aisha walked side by side through the US Customs Shipping/Receiving area that the coffins had been placed in after arriving at Mexico. Once the plane had landed, the coffins had been taken across the US/Mexico border, while Sky and Aisha talked with the Mexican police officers and found a vehicle to get to said area. It didn't take much time to find a car and get across the border.

"Hopefully no one threw up in the coffins," Aisha piped up as she swiped her card over a scanner, opening up the large freezer like room. It was completely empty except for the five coffins in the room. Aisha pulled out a knife while Sky pulled out her own and the two women walked in, turning on the lights of the room and walking down the two rows of coffins, slicing at the straps as they went. With each coffin she cut open, Sky knocked on the top before slicing into the last one on her side, knocking on it.

The coffins opened up almost immediately and the Losers all sat up. Clay hopped out of his coffin and stretched his back, while Roque rolled his shoulders, trying to get some feeling back before climbing out. Jensen shot out of his coffin like a rocket, grabbing his glasses and cleaning them before slapping Roque's hand, happy to see him while Pooch and Cougar both climbed out slowly. Sky had to step back—seeing as she had been right beside the sniper's coffin—and put her knife away as Aisha smiled at the group. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Cougar made a cross over his chest before kissing his thumb, and looking up to the ceiling, praising God they were all safe before he bumped fists with Pooch. Sky noticed her bandana tied around the sniper's wrist, above his leather bracelet and smiled.

"Where do you want to begin?" Aisha asked, looking towards Clay.

Clay smirked. "Let's go bird hunting."

"Weird way to start, but alright," Sky smiled, walking past the others and towards the door. "I'll bring the car around. You guys get the weapons out of the coffins."

"You need me to go with you?" Jensen asked, looking her way in concern.

Sky rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Jake."

It didn't take long before the Losers were all packed up and in the SUV that the two women had gotten. Pooch was at the wheel with Roque seated beside him. Clay and Aisha were in the second row while Jensen, Sky, and Cougar were all in the back of the vehicle, squished together. It was bearable because Sky was pretty thin, but still, the two men were pressed against her sides and she didn't have much room to move.

"Jensen, Roque you still have your fatigues, right?" Clay asked suddenly.

"Yeah, why?" Roque questioned.

"We're gonna steal an Army med-evac helicopter."

Sky pursed her lips before turning to her brother. "He's starting to remind me of Barney."

Jensen laughed. "Oh trust me, it'll probably get worse."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life a Mercenary

_New Mexico_

_October 1__st__, 2013_

"So… we just stole a military vehicle to crash a semi into it?" Sky asked, looking around the group to make sure she was following the plan. She was out of the pants suit and dressed in a pair of jean shorts, her combat boots and a black t-shirt with a red Superman emblem on it. Aisha was dressed in a pair of jeans, a silver t-shirt and beige jacket, and Jensen and Roque were each dressed in their fatigues. The military vehicle that they'd stolen was on its roof, with metal pieces lining the empty street. The semi was stopped just a few feet away from the crash site, and Sky was just very confused by the whole thing.

Clay smirked at her. "Exactly. Jensen will call it into the base and they'll send a med-evac chopper out. Cougar will be in the bushes with tranquilizer darts to take the soldiers out and Pooch will be behind the tree to take out the pilots. Aisha and I will be in the semi in case anything goes wrong and you… well… you can stay with Pooch, us, or Cougar."

"I'll go with Cougar," Sky said immediately.

Without hesitation, Jensen looked her way. "Why Cougar?" He asked in a serious tone of voice, but she knew him long enough to know what he was doing. She saw the slight upturn of his lips and the mischievous undertone his voice had taken. He was thinking back to how he wanted to set her up with the sniper, she was positive. And she was also sure that the only reason he was being subtle—and not outright tormenting her—was because he knew that she would kick his ass if he tried.

"It's been my experience that there should always be someone to watch out for the sniper," she retorted easily.

Jensen immediately looked guilty and apologetic. Ever since Billy's death months ago, he'd always tiptoed around the subject with her. He actively tried to avoid anything related to the blue-eyed sniper for fear that she was still emotional about the whole thing. But that was months ago. It had taken a while, but she healed. She'd moved on. "Good idea," he piped up, clearing his throat a bit before walking towards the spot he was going to sprawl out on in the street. Sky rolled her eyes before she followed the sniper over towards his spot in the bushes.

"They're a weird couple," Pooch commented, looking back and forth between Jensen—who was trying to find a suitable 'injured' position—and Sky who was walking with Cougar in silence as they found their spots.

"It looks like she's warming up to Cougs," Roque pointed out with a look on his face. "I mean, _I_ wouldn't mind getting to know her a little better myself—"

"And this conversation is now over," Clay ordered. "No trying to steal Jensen's girlfriend. He whines enough as it is."

* * *

It was absolutely silent as Sky waited in the bushes with Cougar. He was sprawled out on his stomach, looking through the scope of his rifle while she was on her back, scanning the area behind them. The mission in Albania had taught her a valuable lesson; always watch your six. And always make sure that if your sniper can't watch his back, you watch his. If she had only used that skill in Albania, things might've ended differently with the Sangs. But then again, they might not have. She had tormented herself with those thoughts the first few weeks after Billy's death, but soon she learned to just let it go. Thinking about what she could've done changed nothing.

_"__Everyone in position?"_ Clay's voice crackled through the comms in her ears.

_"__Set,"_ Pooch spoke up.

_"__Ready,"_ Jensen piped up.

Sky looked over to Cougar briefly to see him looking back at her and she quickly looked away to stare back at the space behind them. "Cougar and I are good."

_"__Good. Jensen, go ahead."_

"This is bound to be dramatic," she muttered to the sniper at her side, earning a small chuckle.

Jensen moved slightly from his position to turn on the radio in his hands and cleared his throat. Making sure his vocals were clear and ready for his performance he brought the radio to his mouth. "Base-One this is Cavalier-415! We've been in a collision with a civilian vehicle! Harvey's dead and Freedman's hurt real bad! We need med-evac immediately! He's got kids, Base-One, he's got kids!" He shouted before trailing off. Roque rolled his eyes at the blonde's theatrics as he stayed on the street unmoving. "That sucked," the hacker pouted.

_"__Roger Cavalier-415, we're scrambling a chopper. Hang in there."_

"I could do better than that," Jensen muttered to himself, wondering why he'd gone with such a generic line having to do with kids. "So contrived… I used to be good at that. I was good at that, right Roque?" Jensen asked, looking up towards his unmoving 'dead' friend.

"Shut up."

"Thanks man," he smiled, lowering himself back down and adjusting his glasses. "Robert De Niro, who?"

"Jensen, _shut up._"

"You shut up, Roque. You're dead. I'm spinal injury. Spinal injury can talk, dead can't say shit."

"Stop talking or I'll break your neck really," the demolitions specialist threatened, still not moving.

"You know, you really gotta start getting into character. I'm serious man. Dead guy… no talking."

Sky was trying not to roll her eyes from her spot beside Cougar. They may not have spoken through the comms, but it was plenty loud enough for them to hear from their vantage point. "See what I mean about dramatic?" She asked, shaking her head. She noticed the sniper shifting slightly and looked his way. She noticed him starting to undo the knot of the bandana around his wrist and she frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you this back," he said in his thick accent.

She had to check herself and push away thoughts of how much she liked his accent before she shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You keep it." Cougar looked her way and raised an eyebrow and she smiled reassuringly at him. "Trust me, keep it. It looks good on your wrist anyway." He smiled in response and stopped toying around with the knot. The sound of a chopper filled the air and the two immediately looked up to see the med-evac flying in. She pressed the comms on her neck. "The bird's landing."

_"__Showtime,"_ Roque replied back.

Dirt and dust started to kick up everywhere and Sky had to roll over onto her stomach to avoid getting the little particles in her eyes. She had contacts on and she knew that wouldn't be fun if dirt got lodged in there too. In rolling, however, she ended up fairly close to Cougar's right arm. She blushed slightly at nearly rolling into his trigger hand. "Sorry."

_"__No te preocupes,"_ he responded back with a smile on his face, still peering through the scope.

The chopper touched down and immediately two medical soldiers hopped out with bags of medical supplies running over to them. One of them ran over to Jensen while the other ran over to Roque. As soon as he felt a hand on his chest, Jensen started groaning dramatically before he saw that the EMT kneeling beside him was a rather attractive woman. He adjusted himself to get a better look at her. "Alright buddy, we're gonna get you patched up in no time," she assured, reaching into her bag.

"Oh my God, hi," Jensen muttered, looking up at her face before licking his lips and smiling. "What's your name?"

_"__Fire when ready, Cougar,"_ Clay's voice went through the comms.

Immediately the sniper took two shots, hitting the female attending to Jensen in the neck with the dart and hitting the man kneeling beside Roque in the butt. He smirked when he saw both targets were hit before collapsing on the ground. "Nice shot," Sky complimented. As soon as the two pilots climbed out of the chopper to see what happened to their two men, the sniper gently grabbed her arm and stood up, helping her to her feet. He grabbed his rifle in one hand and her hand in his other before he pulled her along through the grass and sticks to get behind the chopper to signal to Pooch. Without hesitation the transpo man came out from the other side of the chopper, whistling to the pilots.

When they turned, Pooch raised his dart guns and smiled, shooting at them before they collapse. "You've just been chopper-jacked fellas!"

Clay and Aisha hopped out of the semi and walked over towards the others. "Where's my wild-goose?" He asked with a smile on his face, spotting the chopper they were now in possession of.

"GPS… got it!" Pooch said, grabbing the tracker from the front window of the chopper and showing it to his CO.

Roque pushed himself up to his feet hearing that their mission was a success before looking over to Jensen who just got to his feet. "Have you _ever_ seen an EMT look like this?" Jensen asked pointing to the unconscious woman on the street.

"Really bro? 'Hi, what's your name? I have no legs but I want to take you on a date'?" Roque taunted. Jensen turned a nice shade of pink and tried to fumble for an answer before the knife fanatic shook his head. "And if I were you I wouldn't try flirting with women with Sky around," he advised, knowing that flirting in front of a girlfriend could only lead to trouble.

Jensen frowned, wondering why he couldn't flirt in front of his sister. She was his wing-woman. She _always_ saw him flirt… or try to at least. "Why? That's the _best_ time to flirt! She flirts with guys in front of me too!"

Thoroughly confused by the strange relationship the two shared, Roque turned away from the hacker only to see Cougar pulling Sky along towards the others, with his hand in hers. Roque rolled his eyes. "Well, it's a good thing you're okay with her flirting with other guys," he muttered. Jensen followed his gaze and immediately grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Getting Cougar and Sky together might turn out to be easier than he thought. "You don't mind if I take a shot, right?" Roque teased.

Jensen was not amused. Immediately he grabbed Roque's uniform and pulled him over so he could talk low and glared at him. "No, you do not get to take a shot. She is off limits to you, got it?"

The demolitions specialist looked to the comms tech in utter confusion. He was upset when he suggested flirting with Sky, but Jensen was completely okay with Cougar and his girlfriend holding hands. He didn't know if it was because Cougar was his best friend he trusted him not to do anything or if there was something _else_ that was going on. Whatever that something else was, he didn't want to know about it. So he just nodded and rolled his eyes at the comms tech before moving over towards the others to help load the chopper onto the back of the semi.

It took all of them to get the chopper on the truck bed. And after it was situated, Aisha and Sky had gotten the cover from the front of the truck and covered the helicopter as best they could, tying down the edges to the bottom of the truck. While the two women worked, Pooch started rigging up the GPS device to a makeshift rocket he was working on, Jensen and Roque changed into their casual clothes once again and Cougar and Clay watched to make sure no one arrived and saw what they were doing. Currently, Pooch was using duct tape to make the finishing touches on his rocket launcher while Jensen practicing his golf swing next to him. Roque, Clay, Cougar and Aisha were off near the front of the semi, while Sky was hovering in between both groups, listening to some music on her phone.

"Hey J," Pooch piped up, catch the tech's attention. "What do you think's going on with all this 'don't call me Colonel stuff'?" He asked, gesturing vaguely to Clay.

"Classic loss of identity," the genius replied instantly. "Clay defined himself by his place in military structure; his way of measuring good he did in the world. Without it he's another loser like the rest of us."

"Huh…" Pooch muttered, appreciating the fact that Jensen gave him a straight and logical answer instead of spouting off nonsense.

"Did you know that cats can make a thousand different sounds and dogs can only make ten?"

And there went the Jensen nonsense.

"Cats… not to be trusted," the tech muttered, pantomiming another golf swing.

"Okay, do me a favor and never repeat that," Pooch said, handing the rocket to the tech to hold while he placed the launcher on his shoulder. "We're all set!" He called out to the others as Jensen loaded the rocket in. The others all turned to look at the two men, watching to see if the contraption would work. "Ready to take a giant step for… uh… guys who like to steal stuff, I guess," Pooch grinned as Jensen ran back a few feet so he was standing with Sky, pulling her back slightly so they were closer to the others. "Showtime," Pooch grinned before firing the rocket, smirking as it flew off through the skies, disappearing over the horizon.

"Beautiful," Clay complimented. "Let them chase that."

Jensen was laughing childishly as he ran up to the transpo man, with Sky right at his heels, wanting to see the contraption close up. "Now that's a rocket!" Pooch cheered, as Roque whistled, Cougar smiled, and Aisha looked mildly impressed. "That is a rocket!" He cheered again, smiling back at Jensen and Sky who were singing his praises about the rocket.

"Shiiit!" Jensen smiled, trying to spot where the rocket went.

"That thing went _far!_" Sky laughed.

Pooch nodded and pointed to the horizon. "You see that? I'm the Black MacGyver! BlaGyver!"

"Time to move!" Roque clapped, getting their attention before heading towards the cab of the truck.

"Don't get rid of that!" Sky advised, pointing towards the launcher in Pooch's arms. "That thing is awesome."

Pooch grinned triumphantly before following Sky and Jensen towards the cabin so they could hop in beside the others. Since their other vehicle was dumped and the military Humvee was destroyed, they all had to pile into the small area. Pooch, Aisha and Clay were all squished in the front while Roque, Jensen, and Cougar were squished in the back, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Sky frowned, standing in the open doorway and looking towards the others. "Um… I can't help but notice they're no space. Does that mean I ride with the chopper?"

"You're tiny," Clay observed, looking her up and down. "Can't you squeeze in the back?"

_"__We_ can barely fit back here," Roque piped up in annoyance, shoving Jensen slightly, and subsequently shoving Cougar farther into the wall. "Squeeze her in up there."

"Any more people up here and I won't be able to drive this thing," Pooch pointed out.

Sky pursed her lips. "So… chopper?"

"You could always sit on my lap," Clay offered.

"Great idea!" Jensen piped up, causing all the others to look at him in surprise. "Sky can sit on our laps back here!" He elaborated, not wanting his sister to sit in Clay's lap. He was still convinced with his 'crazy sex' theory and he didn't want there to be any possibility that his sister became a subject in the experiment.

"Really, I'm okay with sitting in the chopper."

"Nonsense! If something happens, you'll be stuck back there with no help! Roque and Cougar don't mind, right guys?" When the two men assured her that they had no problems—Roque sounding slightly less enthusiastic—Jensen grinned at his sister. "Crawl on in!"

Sky exhaled through her nose loudly before stepping up into the cabin and moving over to Roque who was the closest to the door. "Sorry about this," she muttered, climbing onto his lap and maneuvering her way down the line, shuffling forward. It wasn't hard crawling on the laps, since their knees were all touching the back of the seat in front of them. It made a solid platform for her. She cursed lightly under her breath as she nearly toppled over but she kept moving until she was mainly on Jensen's lap, her legs stretched out on Roque, though they were still bent awkwardly.

"That doesn't look comfortable for you," Jensen observed. "Scoot down some more so you have room to stretch your legs out."

Sky turned to look at him and saw the mischievous look in his eyes. She felt like punching him. He was using the fact that she didn't have a seat to further his plot to set her up with Cougar. And while she found the sniper _very_ attractive, they were in the middle of a job. Plus she just met him and Jake was forcing her into his lap; literally. Tossing him a look that promised pain, she scooted further down the line so she was seated on the sniper's lap with her legs stretched out over on her brother and Roque. She felt his arm wrap around her lower back and his hand drape over her thighs and she couldn't help but blush staring down at her hands. She felt Jensen use her knees as an arm rest and Roque resting one of his hands over her feet so he could try to stretch out.

"You all look so comfortable," Aisha smirked, looking back at them.

Pooch turned around with his phone in his hands and snapped a picture of the scene before turning back around, laughing. "Alright, let's get moving. We've got a few hours of driving before we show up in Miami."

* * *

Snoring filled the cab of the truck as they crossed over the state line into Florida. Nearly everyone had fallen asleep after night started falling. Pooch was still up since he was the one driving, but Clay and Aisha were both asleep in the front, the woman leaning her head on his shoulder while he leaned against her head. Roque was asleep, leaning his head against the wall of the truck and Jensen was completely out, snoring loudly and leaning his head against the wall behind him. Cougar wasn't asleep though.

Cougar _couldn't_ sleep.

How could he sleep when he was being tortured? Sky had been one of the last ones to succumb to sleep. She had started drifting off and leaning more towards him and before he knew it, Sky's head was resting against his shoulder, her face practically buried in the side of his neck. He still had his arm wrapped around her lower back and his right hand draped across her thighs, but now her lips were right by his neck and every time she sighed, he felt the puff of warm air against his skin, causing him to shiver slightly. It was impossible not to notice how beautiful the woman in his arms was. He knew how beautiful she was the day he saw the picture of her and Jensen years ago in Seychelles. He was tempted to brush some hair away from her face, but he restrained himself.

After all, she was Jensen's girlfriend and Jensen was his best friend. He couldn't be interested in her. He couldn't think about how beautiful she was. He couldn't think about how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. He couldn't think about how much he liked their current position. He couldn't think about the dark circles he noticed under her eyes and how it stirred something protective in him. He couldn't think like that, because Sky was Jensen's girl, not his. And he'd been reminding himself of that simple fact over and over during the car ride to Miami. Each and every time she squirmed on his lap or sighed against his neck again he repeated that information over and over and even recited prayers to get his mind off of her.

When none of that worked, Cougar decided to just try to get some sleep. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, trying to ignore Sky. That didn't work either. In the end he just gave up, embracing the fact that Sky was in his lap. He relished in the feeling of her warm body on his—in certain areas more than others. He rubbed his thumb in small circles on her lower back and he ghosted his thumb along her thigh. He was rewarded with a small shiver from the woman in his lap. He smiled slightly before closing his eyes again, still moving his fingers slightly and focusing on the warmth of Sky and her heartbeat thumping against his chest. Just for a few hours he'd pretend that she was his. Just a few hours before he got as far away from her as possible, so he wasn't tempted by his best friend's girlfriend. And with that thought in his head he finally fell asleep.

* * *

_Miami, Florida_

_October 1st, 2013_

It was a flash of light that woke the sniper up. Cougar was immediately awake and alert at the flash of light, unconsciously tightening his grip around Sky. His eyes scanned the cab of the truck only to see Pooch with his phone up and aiming it at all of them. Realizing that they weren't in any imminent danger he relaxed slightly.

"Sorry Cougs," Pooch whispered, pocketing his phone before gesturing towards the others with a grin. "It was just too good an opportunity to pass up. We're here by the way. I found this old abandoned warehouse. I checked it out and everything." Cougar nodded before the heavy weapons specialist smiled mischievously. "Wanna wake the others?"

"How?" Cougar asked with a quirked an eyebrow, not liking the expression on the man's face.

Pooch grinned maliciously before putting his hand on the steering wheel and pressed down on the horn, making it blare out in the otherwise quiet cabin. Cougar felt Sky jump in his arms at the loud noise and her entire body tense, her breathing coming out it fast little gasps. Jensen screamed loudly from his spot beside the two, flailing his arm and accidentally hitting Roque in the face, causing the already pissed off man to start cursing and threatening to cut the hacker's hands off. Clay shot up and immediately looked around while Aisha looked like she was ready to fight off anyone that came her way. Pooch started laughing.

"The hell was that, Pooch?!" Roque demanded, turning his attention away from the cowering blonde beside them and to their transpo man.

"I thought you'd all want to know we're here," Pooch answered with a grin on his face before he climbed out of the cabin and wandered around the warehouse that would function as their base of operations for the time being. Clay grumbled before climbing out of the cabin with Aisha following suit, muttering about grabbing the weapons. Roque tossed Jensen one final glare before he squirmed his way out of the back and out of the truck, giving the other three occupants of the back more room. Jensen followed him out, shouting how hitting him in the face was an accident, leaving just Cougar and Sky in the truck.

It was silent for a few seconds without either of them moving, before Sky started shifting slightly. "Sorry about falling asleep on you," she said into his neck, not aware how her breath against his skin was making it harder for the sniper to remember his plan to ignore the woman.

"Don't be sorry. You needed sleep," he replied.

"Thanks," she said with a smile sitting up in his lap so she was looking at his face, placing her hands on his chest to sit up. Her cheeks colored and her smiled became embarrassed. "And thanks for letting me sit on your lap."

The sniper couldn't help the devilish smile that spread across his lips. _"De nada."_

Her cheeks got a shade darker before she started crawling out of the back of the truck. He tried desperately not to look at her ass as she got out of the truck, but he lost that internal struggle with himself. As soon as they were all outside of the truck, the group had started unpacking their gear and getting the chopper off the back of the truck. Once the chopper was off the back, Jensen had helped lay down canvas around the area while Cougar got ready to spray-paint the helicopter so it would match the Miami PD colors. Aisha stood close by, cleaning out her guns while Pooch, Clay, Roque, and Sky were in the other room, going over the plans.

Cougar was completely focused as he painted the chopper, getting his white wife beater smeared with blue paint stains, while his mask and hat were still in perfect position without a speck of paint. The white bandana hanging out the back of his pocket had paint smears on it as well from where he would wipe his hands so he didn't get his jeans dirty. He was just about done with the second coat of paint when he heard Jensen clear his throat. He looked briefly over before he did a double take, seeing the hacker gesturing towards something.

Cougar looked towards the area was gesturing in and saw Aisha meticulously cleaning out her handgun. He looked back to the hacker and saw him raise his eyebrows suggestively in a way that the sniper recognized. Jensen was about to try and flirt with Aisha. Immediately, he shook his head, his mask flopping on his face slightly from the force of his gesture. Jensen looked to him confidently, gesturing for him to calm down before walking towards Bolivian. The sniper paused in his painting to watch the scene in surprise. Why the hell was Jensen going to try and flirt with Aisha when his girlfriend was in the next room? Splitting his attention between spraying a final spot on the chopper and watching his best friend attempt to flirt—while Sky was in the next room—he kept his ears open, wondering what was going through Jensen's mind.

"Hi," Jensen said walking up to her. She didn't look up. "So… uh… where are you from… originally?"

"The wilds of Northern Africa," Aisha retorted sarcastically.

"Wow… so that must've been…" Jensen trailed off, not sure what to say. Aisha paused in her work to look up at the comms tech with exasperation and annoyance clearly written on her face. "…sandy…" He finished, picking the first word that came to mind and immediately regretting his choice. Aisha looked back down at her gun while the blonde tried desperately to come up with something else to say. He was never good at flirting and he had no idea why that was. His dad was always such a ladies man from all the stories he told him! "Do you have any hobbies?" He tried, hoping that would help melt the woman's frosty exterior.

"When I was little, I used to collect human ears," Aisha replied, looking up at him.

"Good times…" he replied awkwardly before forcing a laugh. "But it's…" Realizing he had nothing else to say—and no way to _respond_ to someone collecting human ears—he just about-faced and walked out of the room, ducking underneath the tail of the plane that Cougar was just finishing up with. The sniper stopped his painting to watch the comms tech walk off before looking to Aisha who was grinning in amusement. The sniper shook his head and finished up the paint job before he and Aisha walked into the other room to see how the planning was going.

Clay was seated at one of the large desks with pictures spread out all around and maps of Miami. Pooch was working on an engine for the car that his CO and Roque were going to use for the OP the next day. Roque was hovering near the mechanic, while Sky was over near the wall with Jensen leaning on a crate near her, a pout firmly settled on his lips. "There are few things in life that duct tape can't solve," Pooch said, finishing up some conversation he was having with Roque.

Cougar walked over to Clay and grabbed a photo to see the vantage point he'd get in the city, while Aisha examined the plans. "Are small arms gonna be a problem?"

"It's taken care of, thanks," Pooch answered immediately.

"I'm still saying if it becomes an issue, I can take care of small arms or any potential vehicles following after the chopper," Sky piped up from her corner of the room. Jensen, Cougar, and Aisha immediately looked her way, curious as to what she was talking about.

"Wait, what?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sky is convinced that instead of going with Pooch and Aisha in the chopper or with Cougar where it'll be safer she'd be more use down on the street level in case anything deviates from plan," Clay answered with a sigh, looking towards the brunette.

Sky nodded her head, looking entirely confident. "Seriously, if Roque can hook me up with some small explosives, I'd be able to get in and get out quick and easy to take out anything that could be a potential problem."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Aisha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I've seen the photos of the uniforms that Max's men wear. I just need to get one that looks close enough and merge in with them when everything goes to shit. No one will even notice an extra person."

Clay shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think that you're equipped to handle—"

"Oh, I am," Sky cut in. "Just go out on a little faith here. I'll be able to hold my own down there."

The Colonel looked to their hacker. "Jensen?"

Jensen looked from his CO then back to his sister. He didn't want his sister in the middle of Max's men in the first place, but he knew that she could handle herself. And by some of the stories she's told him about the missions she spearheaded, infiltration was her specialty. She'd be able to blend in with Max's guards if she had to, he was sure of it. And it _was_ a good idea to have a back-up plan in case anything went wrong. So he nodded to Clay giving him a confident smile. "She'll be fine."

"Alright then, but you keep in constant communication," Clay ordered, looking at the brunette.

She gave a two-fingered salute. "Aye, aye."

"This brings me to my question," Roque spoke up, looking towards the Bolivian woman. "Aisha, what do you want with Max?"

"Roque," Clay said in a warning tone.

"No, she did her part," he stated walking towards the woman. "We got home. We can walk right now."

"You can, but we made a deal," she replied nonchalantly, shifting through some of the pictures.

"Fuck deals, okay? You made a deal with Clay. I want answers."

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the scene, wondering who was going to give out first. Aisha stared at Roque for a few seconds before speaking. "Max is buying up next generation weapons. I don't know the end game. What I do know is when Max takes an interest in something people die and world maps get redrawn."

"Well shit," the knife fanatic muttered, unimpressed. "And you think you can take him on little girl?"

"No big boy. You are."

"I think I'm just gonna kill her right now," Roque said, pulling out a gun and holding it to her forehead. Clay didn't move and Aisha didn't flinch. Pooch watched the scene, looking back and forth between the two, wondering what was going to happen, and Jensen looked like he was worried about Aisha getting killed. Cougar just watched without any expression on his face to indicate what he was thinking while Sky just kept her eyes on Roque, watching to see if she'd have to intervene.

"No you're not," Clay replied.

"Yes I am."

Aisha grabbed the barrel of the gun and held it to her forehead. "I'm right here. You want to shoot your bank girl, go right ahead." Neither of them moved for a second.

"Roque," Clay spoke up again.

"Okay, you stay with us, but if anything smells like a trap I get to put a bullet in your skull. Does that sound fair?"

Aisha smirked at him. "That sounds fun."

"Sounds like my parents," Jensen muttered, causing Sky to wince remembering how she almost killed Victoria. She was going to have to find an appropriate time to explain that one.

"I knew you weren't going to shoot her," Clay smiled at Roque.

"Not today," the man retorted, past the others to lean against the deck near Pooch, pulling out a black serrated knife had a slight curve to it so he could sharpen it while glaring at Aisha.

"Nice knife," Sky called out, catching his attention—and the attention of the others in the room.

Roque looked at her before a slow smirk formed on his lips. He moved towards her—ignoring the pointed glare that the hacker was sending his way and the annoyed look Cougar adopted for some reason. "You like knives?" He asked in a smooth tone.

Sky narrowed her eyes slightly, knowing what he was trying to do. "Yeah, I do. My dad likes knives."

"So you're a daddy's girl?"

Sky just smirked instead of answering.

The demolitions specialist moved closer so he was standing just a foot away from the brunette—pretending he didn't notice Clay and Pooch's eye roll, Cougar's glaring, and Jensen's silent fuming—and held the knife up to show her up close. "I bet you can't guess how many knives I have on me right now. But I'll be more than happy to show you where they are." He leaned in with his smirk still on his face. "And this isn't the biggest knife I have on me," he said in a suggestive tone.

"Oh really?" Sky asked, playing along and moving a bit closer to Roque. She looked him up and down before her smirk went wicked. "I'm guessing you have… what seven? Maybe eight?" Roque's eyes widened in surprise at the fact that she'd guessed the number. "I bet you can't guess how many I have on me," she replied, this time causing everyone—aside from Jensen—to look at her in surprise. "And just so you know…" Sky reached into the top of her boot and pulled out a large silver bowie knife that Tool had bought her for her last birthday. It curled slightly at the end into a hook and it shined in the light of the warehouse, dwarfing Roque's by a few inches. "Mine is bigger."

Jensen busted out laughing, immediately followed by Pooch who was laughing into his fist, moving forward to high-five the brunette. Aisha looked amused and Clay tried to hide his smile while Cougar chuckled lightly. Roque's eyes widened slightly before he smiled and gave out a small laugh, looking down at the smaller woman. "Not bad. That's a nice knife."

"Thanks," she smiled before sheathing it back in her boot.

"Why do you have it?"

"Never know when it can come in handy."

Roque narrowed his eyes slightly. "So, you can handle small arms and you carry around knives. Just who the hell are you?"

"A girl who was raised in a household of overprotective military men," she retorted easily.

Jensen snorted. "Overprotective is an understatement."

"Out of curiosity," Pooch spoke up, looking at the brunette woman. "How many knives do you have on you?"

Sky just smirked.

"Alright everyone, we've got a mission tomorrow. Everyone turn in and get some rest. We're up at 0500," Clay ordered, standing up and grabbing the back of his jacket, heading towards a section of the warehouse away from the others, where he intended to sleep. Aisha walked off soon after him, heading to her own area and Roque grumbled before heading to where he left his stuff.

Pooch, Cougar, Jensen, and Sky all stayed where they were. "So… how much do you want to bet Roque tries to kill again her before the end of all this?" Jensen asked.

"Two hundred," Sky piped up immediately, shaking her head. "They don't mesh well."

"Oil and water," Pooch shrugged. "Well, I'm gonna go turn in. Ya'll get some sleep."

"Night," Sky smiled at him.

Wordlessly Cougar walked away towards his area, leaving the two siblings alone. As soon as he was sure they were the only ones around, Jensen frowned and turned to his sister with a pout. "Where were you like five minutes ago? I needed my wing-woman over there!"

"Wait, did you try flirting with Aisha?" Sky asked in amusement.

"Yes! And I crashed and burned! She told me she collected human ears! Human _ears_, Sky! And I could only ask that really hot EMT about her name. Why is it so hard for me to talk to girls?"

"You get it from Gunnar."

He frowned. "No way! My dad is a total ladies' man! He told me all these stories about when he was younger!"

"Oh trust me, those were exaggerated," she laughed, shaking her head. "I got to witness his flirting first hand on the mission in Albania, and it was _not_ pretty. He actually reminded me a lot of you."

Jensen pouted pathetically, before a large smirk spread across his lips and he looked to his sister. "So… you and Cougar seem to be getting along." Sky punched his arm in response. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't think I don't know what you've been doing," she hissed at him. "I don't appreciate you trying to throw me together with him in situations at every turn."

"Oh c'mon, you know you like it." Her cheeks turned pink. He grinned wider. "Oh my God, you _do_ like Cougar! I knew it! I knew the internet compatibility search was accurate! And just so you know, you _totally_ have a type. You like the snipers."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Cougar and Sky, sitting in a tree!"

"Keep saying that and I'll sleep with Roque or Clay just to spite you."

Jensen promptly shut his mouth before whining. "Would you really do that?"

Sky rolled her eyes. "I'm insulted you actually had to ask me that. I was just kidding. You know I'm not that type of person."

"And because you're saving yourself for Cougar?"

A kick to his thigh was his only response.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Miami, Florida_

_October 2__nd__, 2013_

_Sweat dripped down her face as she tightened the hold on her M-16. It was a simple mission, in and out. They just had to retrieve the information, bring it back to the buyer and they'd be done. Her job was simple. She just had to lay down suppressive fire so that the others could get back to the plane. Billy was at her left side, lying on the grass while Cougar was on her right, both of them staring through their scopes at the lines of trees in front of them, mumbling something she couldn't catch. Jensen was behind her tapping away at the keys on his laptop, babbling about something she couldn't understand. Suddenly she saw the rest of the Expendables and Losers break through the tree line, running towards them. Enemy soldiers flooded out through the trees, chasing after them with guns up in the air. _

_Immediately Sky took aim and squeezed the trigger but all she heard was a 'click'. Her heart started beating faster and she checked her weapon to see there wasn't a bullet in the barrel. She dropped her magazine out and saw that it was completely empty. She blinked in surprise. She was sure she loaded the magazine. She knew she did. Gunfire sounded and she looked up in absolute terror to see Caesar, Toll, Pooch and Roque all crumble to the ground, with gaping holes in their chests. Her eyes filled with tears and she immediately reached for the spare magazine on her, to try and kill the soldiers so she could check on them, only to find that her M-16 was gone and so were all her weapons. She was just lying out in the grass in only her black sports bra and sweatpants. _

_More gunshots rang out and she looked up, seeing Clay, Aisha, and Yin all going down that time. She shook violently as tears streamed down her face and she tried shouting to them, but her voice didn't work. She looked to her sides to try and get Billy or Cougar's attention, to tell them to start shooting, but they were suddenly gone, only their rifles left behind. Her eyes widened in fear before she whirled around and saw that Jensen was gone too. Dread filled her system before she looked out in front of her and saw that the soldiers were gone, but Gunnar, Jake, Billy, Cougar, her father, and Barney were all kneeling down in the grass with their hands tied behind their backs and screaming at her to save them. Something ripped through the air and she looked up in horror as a missile started flying towards the six men. She pushed herself up, feeling entirely too heavy and too slow, trying to run to them. But there wasn't anything she could do. The second the missile hit, killing the six men and sending flames into the air, she screamed._

Sky snapped her eyes open, her entire body tensing as she looked around. It took a few seconds before she realized she was in the warehouse, sleeping on the floor with Jensen passed out beside her, snoring loudly. She breathed in shaky and deep breaths, wiping at the tears that had fallen from her eyes over her nose and dripped down the right side of her face. Rolling onto her back she tried to calm herself. It had only been a nightmare. Even though she had found Jake, she was still having nightmares; only now the Losers were starring in them along with the Expendables. Feeling her hands shake, Sky knew she wouldn't be going to sleep soon.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position before looking back at her brother. She blinked a bit at the blurry image, since she'd removed her contacts. After she adjusted slightly she stared at his chest, making sure he was breathing—as if the loud snoring didn't give that away—before she stood up and walked away, heading into the warehouse. Her bare feet padded across the cold concrete floor, the edge of her black sweatpants hitting her heels as she maneuvered through the space in the dark, intending on heading for the door. She was pretty sure that going out in only a sports bra and sweatpants without her glasses or contacts wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't be brought to care. She needed to get some fresh air in her or else there was no chance she was going to get any sleep.

Sky walked as quietly as she could, taking care not to wake anyone. But her efforts were thwarted when she stepped on a wrench. Pain shot up her foot and she grabbed at it instinctively, rubbing the sole of her foot. "Fuck!" She hissed in pain, hopping around and nudging the offending tool away with her toes, the sound of metal on the concrete echoing through the area. "Damn it," she muttered, gingerly placing her foot on the ground to test walking on it. It was definitely still sore, but it wasn't cut open and at most it would just bruise slightly. She stayed still for a second, making sure she hadn't woken anyone.

Before she had time to think she felt someone kick at the back of her leg, bringing her to her knees. She immediately rolled out of the way on instinct and stood up to try and see her attacker before she saw a fist flying at her face. She ducked quickly and kneed her attacked in the side twice, earning a groan of pain. Just as she lifted her leg to knee him a second time, he caught her leg and grabbed at her hamstring, stepping into range before he used his hand to scoop up her other leg, taking her off her feet and slamming her into a wall behind her. She gasped as the air was rushed out of her lungs before she wrapped her legs around his waist to get her bearings and geared up to bring her forearm down onto his face. She stopped suddenly, as she finally got close enough to get a better look at her attacker.

"Cougar?" She asked breathlessly, lowering her arms to place it on his shoulder.

Almost immediately the sniper's eyes popped open in surprise and realization before it quickly morphed into guilt. _"__Mierda! Perdon, perdoname,"_ Cougar said immediately, searching her face to see if she was hurt. "I thought you were an intruder."

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault I was walking around in the middle of the night," she replied easily, trying to calm down from the adrenaline that was now coursing through her. "I didn't know anyone else was up. And I didn't know you were so jumpy."

_"__Perdon,"_ he said again, looking upset with himself. "Are you okay?"

Sky took that moment to see if anything _was_ hurt. The bottom of her foot was still throbbing, as was her knee because of how fast she hit the ground. Her back was throbbing slightly too, but she knew that would wear off eventually. All in all, she was okay. It was only when she was about to assure him that she was okay that she realized that he still had her pinned up against the wall with his arms underneath her hamstrings, dangerously close to her ass and her legs were still wrapped quite tightly around his waist. It became quickly apparent that the sniper wasn't wearing a shirt at all and he only had a pair of jeans on with his cowboy hat still perched on his head. Heat filled her system and she was suddenly thankful that it was so dark so Cougar didn't see her cheeks flush. "U-Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"My ribs hurt a little," he said in slight amusement. He shifted his weight slightly and suddenly froze, remembering that the woman he had pinned up against the wall was Jensen's girlfriend. Clearing his throat, he let go of her legs slowly and she unwrapped her legs from his waist. He immediately missed the loss of contact as he stepped away, but he locked those thoughts away, knowing no good would come out of it. They were silent for a few seconds before Cougar noticed she was looking at him and blinking in a way that Jensen did all the time whenever he first woke up. "Do you wear glasses?"

"Yeah, is it that obvious?" She asked sheepishly. "My eyesight is pretty bad. It's a little worse than Jensen's." Cougar whistled. Jensen's eyesight was _bad_. "So, what are you doing up?"

"I heard the noise," he replied easily, gesturing towards the middle of the room where she'd stepped on the wrench. "Why are you up?"

Sky sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Nightmares… I haven't been able to sleep well for a while. I can't sleep more than an hour at a time without waking up because of one."

"You slept well on my lap," Cougar pointed out with a frown.

"I did?" He just nodded. She frowned slightly, thinking that over before she felt fingers on her stomach. She shivered immediately and looked up to see Cougar looking down at her stomach with his head tilted slightly. She looked down to see what had his attention before she saw the silver cross piercing she had on her belly button.

"It looks nice."

She blushed slightly before looking up to meet his eyes. He was looking at her from underneath the brim of his hat, his eyes dark and filled with things she didn't even want to begin to contemplate at that point in time. She licked her lips nervously and immediately his eyes zeroed in on them before he looked back up into her eyes. She _really_ wanted to kiss him. And based on the way he was looking at her she was pretty sure he wanted to kiss her too. But they were in the middle of a mission and they had to be focused. "Uh… I should probably be getting back to sleep. Jake might wake up and wonder where I am," she muttered. Almost immediately the look in Cougar's eyes changed before he tipped his head down slightly so his hat hid his eyes. He stepped out of her way. _"__Buenas noches,"_ he said quietly.

_"__Buenas noches, _Cougar," she replied giving him a smile before she walked back towards where she and Jensen were staying. She quickly dropped down onto her makeshift bed and put a hand over her rapidly beating heart. She tried to listen to Jensen's loud and obnoxious snoring to push away the thoughts in her head, but it just didn't work. Sky bit her lip and turned over onto her side.

Somehow she had a feeling getting her and Cougar together wouldn't need much interference by Jensen at all.

* * *

Ignoring the growling in her stomach, Sky continued lacing up her boots, only partially paying attention to the last minute planning going on around her. Clay, Roque, and Pooch were discussing their jobs, making sure their timing would be perfect. Aisha would occasionally toss in a comment or question, making sure there would be no problems while Jensen pulled on his t-shirt—an inappropriate shirt with a comic book like image of a woman's mouth with a hotdog right in front of it—and hat, the only disguise he'd be wearing. Cougar was over by the others, loading his sniper rifle into its case. He was entirely focused on his task, his sharp eyes examining the gun, meticulously packing it away.

He was wearing a white button with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There was a grey scarf loosely hung around his neck, his jeans were well-fitted and she noticed her bandana was still tied around his wrist. She also couldn't help but notice the ends of his dark hair curling up around the base of his neck, his tongue swiping over his lips, his muscles rippling just underneath his shirt, the way his jeans fit him _just_ right so his—

"Sky."

Immediately she pried her eyes away from the sniper and towards the others, seeing that they were all staring her way. Jensen looked absolutely thrilled, while Clay just raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear me?"

"Uh… no," she admitted, using every ounce of acting skill she had so that she didn't make her embarrassment obvious. "I was in my own headspace. What's up?"

"I asked if you were sure you wouldn't want to go with Cougar instead of going on the street level. He's going to be the safest one."

Sky looked over to the Spaniard and saw his eyes on her. Her heart jolted the slightest bit and she quickly looked back to Clay. "I'm sure. No offense Cougar, but I don't do well with heights."

He gave her a small smile and a nod and she smiled in response.

"Alright, if you're sure I've got your explosives," Roque spoke up, walking over to her with a duffel bag. He opened it up to show her a dart gun with three darts at the bottom and a black box underneath the weapon. "Just shoot the explosive darts whenever you need them and then use the remote detonator once you're far enough away."

"Thanks," she smiled as he walked back over to Clay. "Hey Jake, do you have a shirt you don't mind me using?"

"Yeah, I got a _bunch_ while we were—" The hacker cut himself off, staring at his sister's stomach. He adjusted his glasses to make sure he was seeing properly, before a smile formed on his face and he walked towards her. "When did _that_ happen?"

Sky blinked before following his gaze down to her pierced stomach. She looked up at him and shrugged. "A few months ago."

"Nice!" He cheered, poking at the dangling silver cross. He looked at her with a grin on his face. "Did you finally get a tattoo?"

"Not yet. Shirt?"

Jensen immediately nodded and walked over to his duffel bag and yanking out a dark blue _Sonic the Hedgehog_ t-shirt. He tossed it her way—with the group largely rolling their eyes at his t-shirt choice—before she caught it and pulled out a knife. "Wait, what are you—" Jensen's question morphed into a whine as Sky cut the collar of the shirt and the sleeves so it looked more like a tank top. She then cut off the bottom half of the shirt and used the sides to cut strips so she could tie them together so there was a peephole pattern going up the sides. "Sky! Why are you butchering my shirt?"

"I needed it to fit," she shrugged unapologetically, grabbing the shirt and pulling it over her head, over her black sports bra. It looked like a completely new shirt and actually seemed stylish. "I'll buy you a new one when all this is over with."

"You'd better!" He pouted.

"So… how are you supposed to blend in with military men like that?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow. He gestured vaguely to the jean shorts, black belt, black combat boots, and the blue _Sonic_ shirt revealing her toned stomach, pierced belly button, and toned legs. "You look like you're a sixteen year old."

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm twenty-two," Sky retorted before she smiled. "Besides, this isn't to blend in with them. This is to blend in with everyone else."

"So how do you plan on blending in with Max's men?" Aisha asked.

"I've got a plan."

"Well it better be a good one," Clay retorted, looking slightly worried and exasperated as he grabbed his guns and car keys before looking around them. "Pooch and Aisha start heading out. We'll all follow out behind you."

* * *

Jensen fumbled around for his laptop, trying to ignore the impatient foot tapping coming from his sister a few feet away. Pooch and Aisha had taken off in the chopper already, while Clay, Roque, and Cougar were already in the car, waiting to drive into Miami. It was only after they were double checking their gear that the blonde realized he hadn't packed his trusty laptop or his extra comms like he normally would. And that's why he was sitting on the ground, trying to carefully place his precious babies into his bag while Sky watched him impatiently, because apparently she—and Clay—didn't trust him not to do anything stupid if he was left alone for too long a time.

"Can you hurry this up a tad? I'm hungry," Sky muttered in annoyance, looking down at him. "I'm gonna try and convince Clay to stop at a McDonalds or something."

"Good luck with that," Jensen muttered. "No way will he stop."

"Based on the way he does whatever Aisha tells him, I'm guessing all I have to do is smile and bat my eyelashes to get him to stop. Maybe some pouting will be necessary, but that's about it." Jensen frowned, knowing his sister was probably right. "And if that doesn't work I can try to convince Roque or Cougar."

At the mention of the sniper, Jensen looked up at his sister with a Cheshire cat grin. "Speaking of Cougar, I couldn't help but notice you were checking out his gun. And I'm not talking about his rifle."

Her face went pink. "I was _not_ staring at his crotch!" Jensen raised an eyebrow and her face went a shade darker. "…I was looking at his ass."

"Ha! So you admit it! You were checking out Cougar!"

"Well yeah, he's extremely attractive," she replied with an eye roll. "That's natural. I bet _you've_ been checking out Aisha."

"That doesn't count," he said, waving off her statement no matter how accurate it was. "So, are you going to go for it?"

Sky sighed dramatically and closed her eyes. "I don't know. I'm not sure how to think when it comes to him. I mean last night I thought—"

"Whoa, wait a second, back up there. Last night?" Jensen interrupted with an eyebrow raise. "What do you mean by 'last night'?"

"We kinda had a run-in last night."

"What kind of run-in?"

"The kind that ended up with me pinned against the wall."

Jensen squealed in delight, looking and acting like a teenage girl before he got a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. "Did you kiss him? You kissed him didn't you? Was there tongue? Should I be giving Cougar 'the talk'? And not the sex talk, the 'her family is full of mercenaries and they could kill you' talk."

"Jake, it was _not_ like that," she hissed at him, looking over her shoulder as if she expected the sniper to stroll in at any moment. She moved closer and crouched down in front of him, talking in low tones. "We got into a fight last night."

All amusement flew out of his body and he narrowed his eyes seriously at his sister. "You got into a _fight?_ Are you okay? What happened? Did he attack you?"

Sky shook her head and sighed. "It was my fault really. I got up last night to… go pee and I stepped on a wrench and made a noise. He heard and thought I was intruder and attacked and I couldn't see and thought he was one of Max's men so fight or flight kicked in and we both chose fight. He apologized and everything, so I think we're good. Now quit taking so long and hurry up. We've got a time frame to keep with."

"Fine, fine," Jensen muttered, strapping his bag to his chest before he stood up, pulling his sister up to her feet. "Let's go kidnap Max."

* * *

Clay was a bit hesitant as he sat in the driver's seat, parked in his and Roque's vantage point on the street. They had dropped Jensen and Cougar off in the street that they were going to use for their plan. The sniper would be on the rooftop, in position to take out the front vehicles and watch their back, while Jensen was stationed at a hotdog stand on the street to seal the door and make sure everything was set up. Aisha and Pooch were together in the chopper, waiting to come in on the signal, while he and Roque waited outside the building that Max was in. The second they had parked the vehicle, Sky had gotten out with her duffel bag and made her way into the building with a smile and a wave and absolutely no explanation as to what she was doing—the only thing she said was not to shoot the forth vehicle. He still hadn't heard back from her and he didn't see her and he was internally wondering if he should try and contact her or if he should tell Jensen. In the end he decided to just follow his hacker's advice and trust that the brunette would be fine.

"That's where Max is," the CO spoke up watching as the group of military men got ready to move out, moving to different armored vehicles

"Yeah, I really hope he doesn't see us in this bright yellow banana," Roque retorted, gesturing around him towards the beat up looking car he was seated inside.

"Are you saying you're embarrassed to be seen in an American classic?"

Roque raised an eyebrow. "This is an American classic?" The sound of a siren cut them off and they saw the convoy start moving. The demolitions expert opened his door and pulled out the same explosive dart gun he'd given Sky and took aim at one of the front vehicles. "Alright here we go."

"Let's see what you got," Clay grinned. Just as the car passed by, Roque shot out and tagged one of the SUV's in the front of the pack. "Nice shot."

The man just grinned and closed his door as the Colonel started up the car. He looked around and frowned. "Clay, where are the seatbelts bro?"

"We don't need seatbelts. The G-Force will keep you in your seat," Clay grinned before pulling out to drive behind the convoy.

"This is not a sweet car."

"It's a classic."

"Yeah, it's a classic piece of shit."

Meanwhile, Jensen was at his hotdog cart, eating one of the hotdogs and savoring every bite. While Sky _had_ managed to get Clay to stop and get some food, they had only gotten a hash brown and orange juice each. It wasn't nearly enough to fill them. And after promising to stash a few of the hotdogs in his bag for his sister and the others, he had grabbed one for him to snack on while they waited for the signal. _"__Jensen, are we wired?"_ Clay's voice floated through the comms.

"Max is west bound," Jensen answered in between his bites, checking the watch computer strapped to his wrist. He grinned before speaking into the radio again. "And these hotdogs are _delicious!" _When he didn't hear a whine or complaint from his sister he figured she was already in position with Max's men. He peeked out from where he was on the ground to look towards the building he knew Cougar was on and saw a reflection of light from the scope of the sniper's rifle. He smirked and looked out on the street, seeing the convoy start to drive near him before a shot rang out and a bullet struck the lead car in the front wheel, taking it out and sending the car skidding on its front bumper. Immediately after the back car was shot in the hood, causing the engine to explode and skid out of control, blocking both the front and the back.

All of the military men piled out of the Humvees and SUVs and started surrounding the armored vehicle. Jensen grinned at the fact that their plan was underway before moving his hotdog cart and into position so he was in front of the back door of the armored vehicle.

Clay and Roque piled out of the car on the street. They were backed up in the middle of the traffic behind the blocked street before the CO pulled out a grenade launcher and aimed it in the air. Part of him was worried for the brunette who may or may not be mixed in with the soldiers at that moment. But he knew it had to be done. "This'll wake them up," he smiled after reassuring himself, before firing a smoke round into the group of men. Roque and Clay laughed as they watched the man scramble and cough, trying to get their gas masks on before the sound of chopper blades filled the air.

_"__Shit Clay, I didn't manage to get a mask!" _Sky hissed over the comms in between coughs.

Clay downgraded his chuckles slightly, grabbing the comms at his neck. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were in there. Where are you anyway?"

_"__In the cloud of smoke!" _

_"__Don't worry, I'll clear out the smoke," _Pooch assured with a laugh as he flew into the area.

The chopper blades starting to scatter the smoke hanging in the air, and Clay immediately touched his comms again. "Cougar, do you have eyes on Sky?"

_"__No."_

Seconds after his comment, the men on the ground started opening fire on the helicopter approaching. There was a blonde man in the middle of the fray, barking orders and clearly looking in charge while a second man in military gear was directing the others, telling them where to go and what to do, pointing towards the chopper. Roque noticed and held up the detonator in his hands. "Sky, get away from the tagged car," he warned before he pressed the button to the explosives, sending the tagged car up in flames.

_"__You good Sky?"_ Jensen asked in worry.

_"__I'm good."_

_"__Pooch do you see her?"_

Pooch rolled his eyes from his spot in the cockpit, trying to lower the super magnet hanging down from the helicopter onto the armored vehicle. "Yeah, I'll get right on that while I try to fly the chopper."

"Alright, easy, go to your right now," Aisha advised as she looked out the window of the chopper. "Alright, ease down, ease down to your left… no, no, your other left. Easy, easy—"

"Can you let me do this?" Pooch finally asked in exasperation, looking to the woman beside him. "Can you let me do this?"

"Sure," she replied with an eye roll.

Pooch let out an exasperated sigh before lowering the magnet down onto the top of the van, catching the vehicle in the magnetic pull. Jensen saw that the connection was made and he grinned and reached into his bag—moving away the pile of hotdogs in order to get the crossbow with the locking device. He pulled it out and aimed it at the back of the vehicle and grinned. "That's right bitches… I have a crossbow." He fired it onto the back and sealed it before holding his comms. "Back door is sealed, take 'em up!" Jensen announced before he grabbed his bag and ran over to Clay and Roque, high-fiving both men.

Pooch grinned before lifting the chopper—and subsequently the vehicle—into the air so they were hovering above the street. As he started flying higher into the sky large bangs filled the air and he quickly looked down to see that the turret on the back of the Humvee was in full use. Bullet holes ripped through the back of the helicopter, causing both him and Aisha to shout in surprise. "I thought you said small arms weren't a problem?" Aisha demanded.

"That look like small arms to you?! That's a canon!" Pooch retorted irritably. "Sky, please tell me you can take out the canon!"

_"__On it!"_

Clay watched the ground, looking for the woman but still seeing no sight of her. He was about to radio her on the comms—or at the very least radio Cougar to see if he had eyes on her again—before the man who had been directing the soldiers suddenly pulled out a small arm and shot at the Humvee and the other two vehicles in the convoy. It took Clay a second to realize that the man who'd been directing Max's men—acting as if he knew what to do—wasn't really a man at all. "No way…" he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Sky lowered the dart gun and strapped it to her waist before she pulled out the detonation box. She quickly ran back towards a nearby alleyway and made sure she was safely out of the blast zone before she detonated the explosive. The cars all exploded in a glorious display of fire and heat. A small laugh bubbled up past her lips as the others complimented her—and Aisha vaguely shouted something about a doughnut. She heard Clay ask about Pooch's status and the man reply that they were going to the rendezvous point, but soon all that faded into the background the second she saw a pair of blue eyes on her face.

Wade—the man she had quickly deduced was in charge—was kneeling on the ground from where he'd jumped out of the fiery vehicle and was looking her way, a glare on his face. The second she saw him push himself up and turn her way, gesturing to the other men in her direction, she turned around and bolted down the alleyway. "Hey guys, I've got a slight problem here!" She shouted into the comms. She looked over her shoulder quickly and saw there were three men chasing her down with Wade being one of them.

_"__What's wrong?" _Jensen asked immediately.

Sky burst out the other side of the alley and took off down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd of people. "I've been made and there are three men on my ass right now!"

_"__What's your position?" _

"Going South on 13th street!" She shouted, looking back and seeing the men behind her in the crowd of people. She looked forward and continued running as hard as she could, turning down another corner. "I can use some help here!"

_"__Cougar, can you get to her?" _Roque asked.

_"__On my way."_

_"__Sky, try to get to the alleyway on 17__th __behind the hardware store. Cougar should meet you there!" _Jensen announced immediately.

"Got it," she assured, turning sharply down an alleyway, pulling at the buckles strapping the holsters to her body. The guns weren't even hers. They belonged to the man she'd flirted with before she knocked him out and stole his uniform. And thankfully she still had her own clothes on underneath, in case of a situation like the one she was in. She pulled the holsters off and let them fall to the ground, not once breaking her stride as she exited the alleyway and turned again, seeing that she was on 15th street. She checked behind her to see that Wade and his two lackeys were still on her, but they weren't as fast as she was.

_"__Sky, use the alley coming up to try and shake them!" _

Sky immediately followed her brother's advice, not even stopping to ask how he knew where she was. The second she was out of sight she ripped the helmet off her head, letting her hair fall down around her before she ripped open her shirt so her altered _Sonic _shirt was on display. She let the material fall to the ground and started working on her buckle even as she continued running, exiting the alley and turning towards seventh street. She ditched her belt on the street—startling a taco vender—and tried to figure out a way to pull her pants off without stopping. She heard a whistle to her left and looked up, seeing Cougar waving from his spot in the alleyway, breathing heavily before he stepped back out of view.

Without hesitation she turned into the alley and saw that he had his sniper rifle tucked behind the dumpster and he had his revolver out, looking around cautiously. She made her way over to him before quickly undoing the button of her pants to pull them down, hopping around a bit to get them off over her boots. Once she was free from her disguise and standing in her 'civilian' outfit, she looked up at Cougar. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm good."

_"__Guys you gotta hide! They're right on top of you!" _Jensen shouted through the comms.

Instincts and adrenaline were the only things she was running on right then. And that was probably why when a certain idea popped into her head, she didn't question it or think about the consequences of it. She just decided to act. She pulled the gun out of Cougar's hands and tossed it onto a garbage bag that was hidden from view behind the dumpster. She reached up and pulled Cougar's cowboy hat off of his head and tossed it onto the gun. He immediately looked upset and seemed to be gearing up for some sort of argument, but she maneuvered so her back was pressed against the cold brick wall before she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and looked up at his eyes, giving an apologetic look. "Just go with it."

With on yank, she pulled the sniper down so his lips crashed onto hers.

Cougar's eyes flew open in surprise before he felt Sky's lips moving against his. He let his eyes close before stepping closer towards the woman threading a hand in her hair and parting his lips to catch her lower lip in between his, sucking on it lightly. She made a slight 'hm' sound in surprise and he felt the vibrations through his lips as she parted hers. Without hesitation he let his tongue roam into her mouth, finding hers and touching them together lightly. Her arms wrapped around his neck, toying around with the hair at the nape of his neck and pulling him closer before he reached down and grabbed at her legs, hoisting her up and pinning her against the wall, his lips still smacking and popping hungrily against hers. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she pulled him in closer, her chest rising and falling rapidly against his as she tried to breathe in between kisses. His jeans started to feel tighter and he let out a small growl before removing his lips from hers in order to trail kisses down her jaw and onto her neck, licking and sucking at certain spots, while the brunette tilted her head in order to give him better access, a little moan escaping her lips when he found a particularly sensitive spot.

_"__They're gone! Are you guys okay?"_

Cougar froze abruptly at Jensen's voice in his ears. Guilt, shame, and disgust in himself filled his system as he realized he had his best friend's _girlfriend_ pinned against the wall and was making out with her. He pulled away from her neck, breathing heavily before he looked up to Sky. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks were flushed, and she still had her arms wrapped around his neck with her fingers in his hair. Her eyes fluttered open in order to look at him, her breathing just as heavy as his. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink before she removed one of the hands from around his neck to press the comm button on hers. "We're fine…" she said in between deep breaths.

_"__Good. You two rendezvous with us on twenty-third street."_

Cougar noticed that the woman didn't bother to respond. She just nodded, forgetting that the others couldn't see the gesture. Without saying anything, Cougar let go over her legs and lowered her to the ground carefully. He turned away from her to grab his hat and place it back on his head before he got his rifle case and revolver. "Sorry about that," he heard her say, her voice wavering slightly. "Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable so I thought…"

"It was a good plan," he replied before immediately regretting his words. He was digging himself into a deeper hole every time he was near the brunette woman, and his words could be misconstrued as him saying he _enjoyed_ kissing her. The fact that it was true wasn't the point at all. He cleared his throat before looking back at her, seeing that her cheeks weren't nearly as dark as before, but there was still a slight pink tint to them. "Let's go."

"Yeah… right," she said, moving to walk beside him as they exited the alley and started heading down the street. It was absolutely silent and the air around them was tense.

Normally Cougar liked silence, but right then it was hard not to start trying to explain himself and apologize to the woman for getting so carried away. But he had no idea how he would even word himself. What did he say? Sorry I forgot you had a boyfriend? Sorry I find you extremely attractive and am having more than platonic feelings towards you? And then what would he say to Jensen? That was his best friend. How could he explain to him what just happened?

"Cougar?"

Immediately he snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards the woman at the heart of his internal struggle. She gestured towards the street and he blinked before realizing they were at the rendezvous points with the car parked right beside them. Jensen was looking at them from the back window with a large smile. Cougar clenched his jaw slightly, seeing the happy expression on Jensen's face. He made a conscious effort to look away as Sky climbed into the backseat beside the hacker before he tossed his sniper rifle in the trunk and climbed into the backseat after her. The three of them were squeezed into the back seat of the car before Clay started driving, heading towards the warehouse they'd been using as their base.

"Nice work everyone," Clay complimented, before looking into the rearview mirror at the woman squished in between his comms tech and his sniper. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she assured with a small smile.

"How'd you manage to get in with Max's men?" Jensen asked with an almost childlike curiosity, nudging his sister's shoulder.

Sky looked over to him and gave him a grin, slowly starting to push what had just happened between her and Cougar to the back of her mind at least for the moment. She could talk to Jake about it later when they were alone. "I didn't wear a crop top and shorts for my health. It just took a couple minutes of talking before I took him down and took his uniform."

"Just what exactly do you do?" Roque asked with a raised eyebrow, turning in his seat to look her way.

She and Jake responded in unison. "Entrepreneur."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Miami, Florida_

_October 2__nd__, 2013_

The second they pulled into the warehouse, the five all piled out of the vehicle, stretching and gathering their weapons before they started making their way towards the helicopter and armored vehicle now in the warehouse. "Fellas," Pooch called out as he and Aisha made their way towards the others. "You're not gonna believe this shit. Wade was there."

"Wade Travis, seventh group?" Clay asked in surprise.

Pooch nodded. "He made me Clay. No question."

"Wait, are you talking about blonde Wade?" Sky asked, looking around the group with a frown on her face. When Jensen nodded her frowned deepened. "He's in charge of Max's men. He was the dude chasing me down."

"Who is he?" Aisha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We ran counter-guerilla ops with him," the transpo man answered. "Let's just say he's a bad man."

"Well, I thought you guys were bad men."

"He's worse," Cougar retorted.

"Alright," Roque spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Right now we have to deal with the heavily armed evil genius inside this truck. C'mon."

Immediately, Pooch, Roque, Jensen, Cougar, and Sky all grabbed their dart guns and moved so they were on the sides of the truck while Aisha climbed up onto the top and accepted the hose Clay handed towards her. She fit the hose over a nozzle on the top and nodded to the CO. "Open the valve."

Without hesitation, he did as he was told and the sounds of shouts and banging came from inside the truck. They waited a few seconds before they turned off to the valve and pulled the hose out so that Clay could move to the backdoor and pull off the locking device Jensen had fired earlier. The second it was off the doors flew open and around seven men in swat gear all piled out, their guns raised at Clay even as liquid dripped down their uniforms. "Hit the ground!" Clay just turned around, unimpressed. "Turn around or I'll blow your head off!" The lead man shouted again.

"Yeah, I don't think so," the Colonel retorted, pulling out a lighter.

"First and final warning," the man hissed again.

"Gasoline, muzzle flash…" Clay trailed off. He could practically see the gears turning in his head and he saw the moment the man realized that they were covered in gasoline and not water. "Think about it."

He looked up in horror before lowering his weapon and turning to the rest of his men. "Put them down."

The second the weapons were lowered, Roque, Cougar, Jensen, Pooch, and Sky all came from around the truck and fired their darts at all of them except the lead man, watching as the men dropped to the ground, unconscious. "Coug," Clay called out. Immediately the sniper lowered his dart gun and climbed into the truck, searching to see what he'd find. "Where is he?" Clay asked, looking to the only swat member still conscious.

"Who?"

"Max."

"Who the hell is Max?"

Pooch shot the man with a dart and watched as he crumbled to the ground. Aisha immediately raised her hands, knowing what was going to happen next. "I can explain—"

"Shut up," Clay ordered just before Cougar brought out a small metal case. "Jensen, open it."

The hacker immediately walked over to the sniper as Roque moved towards the Bolivian woman, taking her gun from her holster and holding his own aiming at her head. Sky moved over to the man, taking Aisha's weapon before holding it up to aim at her as well. She split her attention between the Bolivian in front of her and her brother and Cougar opening up the case. Jensen frowned and pulled out a small black device. "It's a hard drive from Goliath, the multi-national manufacturer of _everything."_

Clay stared directly at Aisha, glaring at her, before he gestured to the other female in the room. "Sky, tie her up. Jensen figure out what's on the hard drive. "

The brunette immediately nodded and looked towards Pooch who quickly went to one of the corners of the warehouse to find a small bundle of rope. She uncoiled it and started tying it around Aisha's hands that were already behind her back, knowing it wasn't smart to struggle at that point. She made sure that the rope was tight and secure while Roque still had his gun trailed on Aisha, ready to shoot in case she so much as twitched in a way he didn't like. Once she was done with her job she cut off the excess rope and stepped to the side before the entire group moved towards the outside area of the warehouse where Jensen had set up his laptop. They all waited around, trying to see what he would find.

Sky was perched in a seat right beside him, while Cougar was leaning against the table by the two. Pooch and Roque were seated on a few benches just behind them while Aisha was on an oil drum, slightly away from them but still in Roque's line of sight. Clay was pacing back and forth in front of the table, his eyes flickering to his comms tech every few seconds as his fingers flew across the keys, hoping for some good news. "I'm completely locked out," Jensen sighed after a while. "Without a decryption key that goes with this you're looking at a cool paper weight."

Clay was silent for a second, looking out at his team before looking towards Aisha. "Shoot her, burn everything."

"Don't you want to find out what's on it?" Aisha immediately asked as Cougar started gathering up the papers and Pooch started getting the cans of gasoline. Sky started helping Jensen gather up his computers so they wouldn't get burned in the fire.

"No."

Aisha clenched her jaw as Roque started loading his gun and Clay turned his back on her, starting to walk away. "I can't find Max, no one can. But I knew he was moving something that was very valuable to him. Clay!" She shouted when he still didn't turn. He stopped walking. "Whatever it is we can use it against him! It's leverage!" She continued shouting as Roque hauled her to her feet.

"The drive is proprietary technology built by Goliath," Jensen spoke up suddenly, causing everyone to look his way. He shrugged slightly, looking towards Clay. "The algorithm is probably on the mainframe."

"Jake and I could get in and out," Sky piped up, seeing where her brother was going with his comments.

Clay mulled that over.

"Oh come on," Roque complained, looking towards the CO. "We're not considering that."

Pooch held a hand up to his friend. "Wait, wait—"

"No, no, c'mon man. We're not the good guys anymore!"

"Twenty-five kids," Clay spoke up, catching everyone's attention as he stalked towards the knife fanatic. "Twenty-five innocent lives were lost because of this guy, do you remember that Roque?"

"Yeah I do!"

"You were there."

"Yeah, I was there."

"Max is gonna pay."

Roque's entire face changed as he looked towards his CO. "Is this a guilt trip? No, I don't want him to pay, I want my life back, okay? My life back; enough of this revenge bullshit. I'm killing her right now," he threatened, grabbing Aisha's arms.

"You don't like the way I'm running things Roque, you can find the door," the Colonel retorted.

"And go where Clay?" He challenged, letting go of Aisha and stalking back towards his CO. "Huh? Go where? We're _fugitives_, cause of you. Hm, what the hell you gonna do next, huh? Put us in a box because you got beat by a guy in a radio?"

Clay reeled back and punched Roque in the face. Immediately Pooch stepped in between them, knowing that the situation would only escalate, pushing back Roque while Jensen shot forward to start pushing Clay back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down," Pooch advised, sharing a worried look with Jensen knowing that if they didn't calm down it could get ugly fast.

"You shouldn't have done that," Roque hissed, pacing back and forth like a caged animal, trying to get around Pooch. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Well I did," Clay retorted.

"C'mon guys, don't do this," Jensen piped up.

Roque reached into his waistband and pulled out a knife. "I'm gonna cut your head off!" Roque surged forward, pushing at Pooch while Clay mirrored his actions, pushing against the blonde hacker, backing Jensen and Pooch into each other so it became a shoving match. Jensen was trying desperately to keep Clay at bay, while Pooch had grabbed onto Roque's hand with the knife and was trying to use his other arm to shove the demolitions expert back. Sky's eyes widened before moving forward, intent on helping the two men separate the fight but an arm slipped around her waist and pulled her back. She blinked in surprise and looked up to see that Cougar had grabbed onto her and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his other arm around tightly to make sure she didn't try and rush forward. His eyes were fixed on the fight in front of him, and it didn't even seem like he knew he'd grabbed her to stop her from intervening.

"Roque!" Pooch shouted loudly as he and Jensen managed to separate the demo expert and Clay. "We're alive Roque. The only thing we have to use against them right now is that drive."

"She framed us," Roque spoke up, holding his arms out wide, his knife still firmly in his hand. "Are you guys blind? She framed us!"

"We hit Goliath Worldwide headquarters in two days," Clay ordered, moving forward so he was in front of Roque again, with Jensen hanging around near him, ready to separate them again if he had to. "You want your life back? You're gonna have to steal it." And with that Clay started walking away.

"You're wrong you know that!" Roque shouted, trying to move forward only to get pushed back by Pooch. "Again cause of a woman?!"

"Cut her loose!"

Roque glared.

"Cut her loose," the heavy weapons specialist ordered looking to the taller man. He didn't respond. "Cut her loose, Roque."

"You cut her loose, bro," Roque retorted, slamming his knife down into the wood of the table and stalked away from the others.

Pooch watched him go before he grabbed the knife and walked over to Aisha, pointing the blade towards her face. "This is on you," he hissed before moving around behind her to cut the ropes. Because he was behind her, he didn't see the smile that formed on her face.

Sky, however, did.

She stowed that away into the back of her mind. While Aisha was acting very odd and very suspicious, the situation between Clay and Roque was much more prevalent and more likely to explode. So she placed her hands on top of Cougar's arms still firmly around her waist. She immediately felt him tense up behind her and she bit her lip slightly. "Cougs, I'm good now."

Within seconds he'd released her and stepped back a good few feet away.

"Hey guys!" Sky and Cougar both looked up to see Jensen looking their way, gesturing towards the table and information. If she didn't know her brother better, she would think he hadn't noticed the position she'd just been in with the sniper. But she did know him better. And she saw the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, just dying to smirk, but knowing it wasn't the time. "We gotta gather up the stuff. Goliath headquarters is in Houston."

"Right," Sky said, glaring slightly his way which only caused his lip to twitch more. "I'm gonna go see if Roque needs any help." With that she walked past her brother and towards the direction the knife fanatic had gone, deeper into the warehouse. When she found him he was sitting down against one of the walls, staring down at his black knife in his hands, looking lost in thought. "Roque," she spoke up lightly, causing his eyes to cut to hers. "Mind if I talk to you for a second?"

"Go ahead," he muttered indifferently.

Sky moved closer so she crouched down beside the knife thrower. "Listen, I know how frustrated you must feel right now and I know you think Clay is an idiot, but you gotta let that go."

"Let it go?" He echoed in disgust. "You want me to just let that go? He's going to get us all fucking killed because of a woman!"

"You might be right," she admitted, which immediately silenced him. "You might be right and this entire thing may just be for nothing. But what if you're wrong and this drive helps you guys clear your names?"

"She is setting us up! Can no one see it?!" Roque exploded, glaring at the brunette beside him.

"And if she's setting us up, we take her out. But this... it's not going to work. Trust me, I know what happens when someone becomes _unbalanced_," she paused, thinking back to a few years ago with the situation between Gunnar and the other Expendables. "If you don't let go of this now you're not going to like how it ends. Move past it and move on."

"Just who the hell are you?" Roque demanded, looking her way with a narrowed stare. "You find us out of nowhere, you carry around knives, you use guns, you can get in with Max's men, you say you can get in and out of the biggest worldwide manufacture and now you're lecturing me about things you've 'seen before'. Who are you?"

"An entre—"

"Enough of this entrepreneur bullshit," Roque hissed. "Who the hell are you?"

Sky clenched her jaw slightly. "The second I think it becomes important to tell you, I will."

The demolitions expert stared down the mercenary before narrowing his eyes at her slightly. "I don't trust you. And if it wasn't for Jensen, I would cut your throat before you end up setting us up like Aisha did."

"There would be a bullet in your skull before you got close."

Roque glared and grabbed his knife tighter and surged forward for her neck. Sky immediately grabbed his wrist and forced it against the wall he was leaning on and reached back with her other arm to grab at the Beretta tucked into the waistband of her shorts. She pulled it out and took the safety off before placing the muzzle of the weapon against Roque's forehead in one quick and fluid move. She saw his eyes widen slightly and she glared at him in return. "Try to pull a weapon on me again and I _will_ kill you," Sky said without any emotion. "Now stow this shit and move on."

Roque stared at her for a few seconds before dropping his knife and pushing the gun away from his forehead. "Do me a favor. You handle your business and let me handle mine. That sounds good to you?"

Sky didn't like the harsh tone he'd taken towards the end of his statement. She had a feeling that he wasn't going to take her advice and that she was going to see a repeat of what happened with the Expendables when Gunnar went crazy. But she wasn't as inexperienced as she was last time. And she wasn't as emotionally invested. They weren't her family. If it came down to it she would shoot him without hesitation. And she would take down Aisha if she got just the hint of a double cross. She'd do whatever it took to keep her brother safe and get him back home. So she nodded and stood up, looking down at the demo expert as she replaced her gun back in her waistband.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

With that she walked away from him and started heading towards the rest of the group. Before she could get there, however, Jensen had rushed over to her and grabbed her arm, yanking her into a different section of the warehouse that they hadn't gone into before. She asked what he was doing, but he didn't answer and just kept pulling her along. Once they were far enough away from everyone, he stopped and rounded on his sister with a Cheshire cat grin on his face. Immediately she knew what he wanted. "Don't even start."

"You like Cougar."

"Jake, shut up."

"And Cougar likes you."

"I doubt it," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against a metal beam behind her.

Jensen immediately frowned, looking like a kicked puppy. "Why would you say that? He obviously likes you. He was getting all concerned and grabby when you were going to jump into the fight earlier."

"Yeah, well, I don't know. I'm getting really mixed signals from him."

"What kind of mixed signals?" When he noticed his sister's cheeks turn pink and the fact that she was pointedly trying not to look at him, his face exploded into a smile again. "You kissed him, didn't you?" Her face got pinker and he beamed and started jumping up and down in his spot, laughing loudly. "Oh God, you _did_ didn't you! When? Tell me!"

Sky glared up at her brother. "You're so backwards."

"I don't care! I ship you two so hard it's not even funny!"

"What the hell does _that_ even mean?"

"Tech speak, don't worry about it," Jensen quickly said, clearing his throat before he grinned at his sister again. "So tell me what happened!"

She gave a dramatic sigh before explaining. "Okay, so remember when you told me and Cougar to hide when Wade was showing up?" He nodded but didn't interrupt. "Well, I had taken off my pants so—"

"Whoa, wait, what?" He asked, sobering up. As much as he wanted Cougar and Sky to be together, he knew his best friend had a reputation with women, and he did not want his sister to be just another notch on his bedpost.

"The _uniform_ pants," she clarified, causing him to sigh in relief. "I was taking them off so I could blend in, and well, there was nowhere to go and no time, so I just acted without thinking. So I took his hat off and—"

"Wait, you touched _The_ Hat and you didn't get killed?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow. At her nod, he beamed. "That mean he totally likes you! Anyone else he would've maimed!"

Sky rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, I kinda kissed him."

"Did he kiss back?"

"Yeah, he kissed back alright," she said, remembering how passionately he kissed back. Before she got too lost in her thoughts, she looked back at her brother and shrugged. "But then you started asking us if we were okay and he just stopped and he acted really weird afterwards and didn't even speak or look at me."

Jensen frowned, wondering why Cougar would act like that. That's not how the sniper normally acted around women. And if it was someone he really _did_ like there was no way that Cougar would be giving out such mixed signals. Suddenly it hit him and everything started making sense. The looks he and Sky got from the others, the comments that they sometimes made; everything made sense.

"I got it! Cougar thinks I'd be mad if you dated him because you're my sister!"

"You really think so?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's got to be it," he said with absolute confidence before smiling down at his sister. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to talk to Cougar and explain that I'm totally pro-Skougar."

She looked up at the blonde for a total of ten seconds, wondering what he was high on, before she pursed her lips. "Do I want to know where you got the word 'Skougar' from?"

"Well it was either that or Cougy, and that just sounds stupid."

Sky shook her head and walked away from her brother, deciding that she really didn't want to know what he was talking about. The second they got back to the others the two siblings helped pack up the van they'd be travelling in and Sky became extremely happy to hear that Jake had snagged some hotdogs for them to eat on the road. But as they were just finishing up and getting ready to leave, Jensen had made a big show about forgetting some 'super important' piece of equipment of his somewhere in the warehouse and had all but dragged Cougar with him to go find it while the others loaded into the car.

The sniper felt extremely awkward and guilty as he walked beside his best friend who was chattering away about road trips and vacations that he was only paying a fraction of attention to. He couldn't get his mind off of what happened in the alleyway and then during the scuffle between Roque and Clay he'd grabbed onto Sky without him even realizing it. It was as if his body just acted on its own and actively sought out the woman. And to make matters worse, the more he tried to push her out of his mind and ignore her, the more he started to realize that he couldn't. He couldn't just stop looking towards her or thinking about her or that moment in the alleyway. And he couldn't stop thinking about how he wanted a repeat of that moment.

"So… Cougs," Jensen suddenly said, catching the sniper's attention. He nodded towards the blonde, prompting him to continue. "I talked with Sky."

Cougar froze, all his muscles tensing at once.

"And she told me what happened earlier and—"

_"__Perdoname,_ I'm sorry," Cougar started saying immediately. "I didn't—"

"Whoa, Cougs, calm down," Jensen said with a smile on his face. "I just wanted to let you know it's totally okay." The sniper blinked once before frowning in confusion. "Seriously, it was fine. I understand. It's totally cool. No worries alright? I'm totally okay with it. So if it happens again, don't worry. I approve." Cougar continued to blink in surprise before Jensen jerked his thumb over towards the entrance where the others were. "Oh yeah, I just forgot that thing I was looking for was already packed. C'mon, let's get going!"

Cougar watched the hacker rush off before wondering what just happened. Did Jensen really say he was _okay_ with him making out with his girlfriend?

* * *

_Houston, Texas_

_October 4__th__, 2013_

_"__Sky! Save us!"_

The brunette girl bolted up, breathing heavily and looking around for any threats. It took a few seconds of blinking before she realized that she just had another nightmare. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and grabbed for her glasses so she could see in the dark 'room'. It was really a shipping container that they were using in an abandoned junk yard. They each got their own, except for her and Jensen. For some reason the others insisted the share a container, but she wasn't complaining. She probably would've freaked out if the blonde wasn't in her line of sight anyway.

Her brother was sprawled out on the floor beside her with his jacket bunched underneath his head, snoring away. She sighed in relief, knowing his was okay before she started to feel a bit too closed in. She grabbed onto a pair of flip flops she had and moved towards the door. She winced slightly as she opened it up, making a loud creaking noise, but still Jake didn't wake up. She walked out of the container and into the cool night air, taking a deep breath as she walked around by the containers the others were using.

As she passed by the one Cougar was using, she realized that the door was open and instead of sleeping the sniper was sitting on the steps to his container, cleaning out his rifle. Not wanting to get into another fight—or get shot with the large rifle—Sky cleared her throat loudly, catching his attention. He tensed with the gun in his hands, looking about ready to aim it her way. "Don't shoot, please?"

Cougar blinked through the dark before his eyes adjusted and he lowered his rifle. "Nightmare?" He guessed.

"Yeah," she sighed, shifting slightly on her feet awkwardly as she remembered the incident in the alleyway just a few days ago. "It's still hard for me to sleep well."

The sniper was very tempted to point out the fact that she slept fine whenever she was on his lap, but he squashed the thought before he actually verbalized it. No matter what Jensen said earlier—and even then, Cougar was _still_ convinced that he had misinterpreted the comms tech somehow—he wasn't going to get any closer to Sky than he already had. "What kind of nightmares?" He asked instead.

"Death, dying… all that good stuff," she muttered, looking down at her toes.

"Do you want to talk?"

Sky smiled at him and shook her head. "I'd rather not, but thank you." She grew silent for a few seconds and shifted awkwardly again. "Well, I guess I should get some more sleep. The job isn't that far off."

"How are you going to hide the comm?" Sky blinked slowly before she realized he had a valid point. She had her disguise already set up for the op in just a few hours. She knew exactly what she was going to wear and what she was going to bring but she hadn't thought about how she was going to wear the comms around her neck without anyone noticing. Thoughts of a turtleneck briefly flew through her mind before she shook her head. Turtlenecks in Texas wasn't done this early in fall. She was about to reply to the sniper, telling him that she had no clue, before she saw him reach for something in his container/room. She watched him curiously before he lowered his rifle to the ground and stood up, walking over with a grey scarf in his hands. "Here." Sky looked down at the scarf he was extending towards her and accepted it, taking the soft material in her hand. She ran her fingers over it for a second before looking back up to the sniper.

_"__Buenas noches,"_Cougar spoke up with a small smile.

She returned the gesture and nodded while walking backwards towards her 'room' with the scarf still firmly in her hands. _"__Buenas noches, _Cougar."

* * *

_Houston, Texas_

_October 4th, 2013_

The sound of the door popping open caught Cougar's attention and he turned around to see Aisha climbing into the van with a 'good morning' with Clay immediately climbing in after her. It didn't take any of the men in the van long to realize what had happened between the two. While Jensen and Sky left earlier for their op, the others had all stayed back for two hours to give Sky time to merge in with the others in Goliath. Roque was already in the back of the van, glaring at Clay and Aisha, while the sniper and Pooch were in the front.

"Oh wow, that's just peachy," Roque commented, looking pointedly at the two in front of him.

Pooch sighed in exasperation before turning around in the driver's seat, looking very much like a parent scolding a pair of bickering children. "Alright, we're not going anywhere until the two of you squash this bull-shit."

"Pooch, we're on a tight schedule," Clay replied without hesitation. "Let's go."

"Yeah," the knife fanatic agreed.

"Oh we're on a schedule? Okay," Pooch mocked before pulling the keys out of the ignition. Cougar tried not to smile before Pooch turned back around to look at the two men seriously. Aisha just seemed content to watch the whole scene play out in front of her.

Clay sighed seeing that Pooch wasn't going to budge. "Roque… I'm sorry I hit you in the face."

Pooch forced back a laugh. "That was good, that was good. Roque?"

"Clay… I'm sorry I threatened to cut your head off."

"Very good!" Pooch snickered. "Now doesn't that make you two feel so much better?"

"No," both men chorused at once.

"I don't give a shit," the driver smiled, turning the car on. "It makes me feel better. Now I say we go watch Jensen get himself killed."

* * *

It took every ounce of willpower in her not to break the hand of the man standing behind her, hovering far too close to her for her liking. When she and Jensen had formed their plan they had made sure that the normal secretary for the HR director was out 'sick' so that Sky could take her place. Then Jensen would come up acting as tech support and Sky would wave him through without any muss or fuss. Getting in as Anderson's secretary hadn't been hard at all. Dealing with Anderson who had decided to take a 'hands on approach' to training the new temp was trying every bit of patience the brunette girl had.

"Did you get that?" Anderson asked with what was supposed to be charming smile, but turned out looking more like a leer. His face was hovering dangerously close to hers and she was well aware that it was probably in an attempt to look down her white blouse and black jacket. Again. If there was ever a moment she was glad she didn't have a large chest it was then.

Sky managed to plaster on her best smile and nodded. "I got it. Thank you so much for explaining this computer system to me."

"It's not a problem," he assured, placing his hand on her shoulder and rubbing at it for what seemed like the tenth time. "If you need anything don't hesitate to call me. I'll just be in my office."

"I'll do that," she smiled. The second Anderson let go of her shoulder—tossing a wink her way—and disappeared into his office, Sky reached up to covertly press the comms button underneath the grey scarf she had on—the amazing smelling grey scarf. "If you guys don't hurry up soon, I'm going to end up killing this man."

_"Don't kill him. That would make things too messy." _

Sky rolled her eyes at Clay's response before making it look like she was doing the paperwork Anderson had left out for her. Halfway into the stack—or at least _pretending _to be working on the stack—another secretary from another part of the office walked over to her and started talking to her as if they were best friends. The tanned blonde woman was asking where Sky was from and how she heard about the job and if she wanted to get lunch and Sky could only nod and smile while internally cursing herself for suggesting she help Jake with this plan. The others better put the plan into motion soon or she was going to lose it.

* * *

_"Jensen, you're clear to move in."_

Jensen sucked in a deep breath and made sure he had everything. He had his bag with his disguise, his phone, flash-drives, and briefcase, and his earbuds were already in his ears. Confident that he was ready he hopped onto the bike—that he'd found in the yard they'd been staying at—and started pedaling towards the large Goliath Worldwide building just two blocks away from him. The second he was by the door he parked his bike before entering through the front doors, starting his rendition of 'Don't Stop Believing', singing along with the music flooding his ears.

"A singer in a smoky room," he sang as he signed himself in the front desk, ignoring the confused look he was getting from the receptionist. He quickly walked towards the elevator where a small cluster of business men were waiting to board. But he couldn't let any of them get on with him. "Smell of wine and cheap perfume! For a smile they can share the night! It goes on and on and on and on!" He sang, rocking his fist back and forth and getting into the grove and successfully moving towards the front of the group. Deciding to up the theatrics a bit he opened his eyes and pointed dramatically towards the people giving him weird looks. "Strangers, waiting!" The elevator doors slid open and he got in quickly, before whirling around dramatically to face and point at them again, dancing up towards the front of the door and making hand gestures to insure no one else got in. No one even moved. "Up and down the boulevard—"

The second the elevator doors closed he quit singing and started yanking off his bag and headphones, tossing them in the corner before he pulled off his shirt and reached for his Bluetooth and cell phone, calling the number he'd programed in as he attached the Bluetooth to his ear. _"Goliath Worldwide Enterprises."_

"Mr. Anderson, please," Jensen said politely before placing his phone on the pile in the corner so he could start undoing the knot on his shorts.

_"Mr. Frank Anderson, Human Resources? One moment please."_

Jensen just managed to get his shorts undone and pulled them down so he could reach for his briefs—since he decided to go commando while just wearing the shorts—just as the elevator doors slid open. He shot up in surprise and embarrassment as four women stood on the outside of the elevator, making noises of surprise that morphed into desire as they shamelessly checked out the half-naked blonde. The comms tech looked down in embarrassment before looking up at the women. "Liking the angle of the dangle?" He asked before immediately regretting using that line. Thankfully the elevators closed without any of the women getting on—though he noticed a few of them trying to get one last peek as the door closed.

Shaking off the encounter he grabbed his briefs and slipped them on before reaching for his pants just as a new voice appeared on the phone. _"This is Anderson."_

"Mr. Anderson, this is Richard Kurtz from internal security," he spoke up as he stepped into the pants and hopped around in them. "I'm wondering if you'd be kind enough to make your way to the lobby."

_"Can I ask what this is about?"_

"Well, it's a matter of somewhat sensitive nature involving an individual… exposing himself to women in the elevator. Nasty business, really; best discussed in person," Jensen grinned as he zipped up his pants and did his belt.

_"Alright, I'm on my way."_

"See you there,"the hacker responded before ripping his Bluetooth out of his ear in order to reach for the blue short-sleeve button up he had in his bag and the striped tie. He quickly slipped it on and did the tie before shoving his clothes into the bag and his bag into the briefcase he'd brought with him. He made sure his flash-drive was accessible and his faked badge was on just as the doors slid open on the HR floor. He stepped out onto the hall with a wall made of windows to his right and the glass doors that led to the help-desk and the other offices just past the fishbowl like area. He walked over to the doors before grabbing it and holding it open as Anderson walked out. As soon as he was gone and in the elevator, Jensen walked into the help-desk area before turning to his right and into the secretary's office to Mr. Anderson.

Immediately he saw Sky sitting at the desk, wearing her black skirt suit with the grey scarf—one of _Cougar's_ grey scarves he thought with a small smile—and a forced smile as she talked with another woman wearing a grey skirt suit with blonde hair. Sky's eyes immediately landed on his and widened slightly before she looked back towards the woman in a way that the blonde hacker recognized. The extra woman wasn't a part of the plan. "Hi," he said loudly, catching the attention of both of them. "I'm Skippy from tech support, here to install the firewall on Anderson's system."

"Oh you just missed him," the blonde spoke up before Sky got a chance to wave him through. "If you want you can come back in like an hour?"

Jensen made a clicking noise before smiling at the blonde. "You know I can be in and out in two minutes, he doesn't even have to be there."

"Sure, go on in," Sky smiled, waving him towards the door.

The blonde frowned. "Amy, Mr. Anderson has to be present for—"

"Thank you I appreciate it," Jensen cut in, quickly moving into the office, vaguely aware of the sounds of arguing coming from the two women outside the office. He decided to ignore it for the moment and quickly rushed over to Anderson's computer, pulling his flash-drive out and plugging in as he hacked onto the system. It took him no time at all to hack into the computer and start searching the mainframe for the algorithm to the drive. He scanned through the lines of code rapidly before he found the one he needed and downloaded it onto his flash-drive. He exited everything quickly and was tossing the stick of information into his briefcase when Sky rushed in, nearly tipping slightly on the sky-high black heels that were thankfully secured at her ankles.

"I knocked out the secretary," she blurted out immediately.

Jensen's eyes widened at his sister. "You _what?"_

"She was calling for security! What was I supposed to do?" Sky retorted helplessly, moving over to his side and looking over her shoulder. "We need to make it out of here fast and—"

"Skippy."

"Hey—"Jensen started as he and Sky both turned around to see the much larger security guard, looking at them both with a suspicious glance. "—shiiiiiit!"

"Really?" The man asked, clearly unimpressed with the 'cover' Jensen had come up with.

Jensen grabbed onto his briefcase tightly and looked towards his sister, pretending to look sheepish. "Look… I know this probably doesn't look—" The blonde immediately slammed his briefcase into the guards face, knocking him to the ground before he grabbed his briefcase under one arm and grabbed Sky's hand with the other, pulling her along as he ran towards the other door in the office, leading out towards the cubicles. Sky was making awkward steps as she ran and Jensen rolled his eyes. "Can't you run in those things?!"

"Why don't _you_ try and run in a shoe that literally has only four inches of a thin plastic stick as the support in the back?!" Sky fired back immediately as they turned the corner, still running through the halls and passing by confused looking office workers.

Consenting to her point, Jensen reached up to press the comms on his neck and got a firmer grasp on Sky's hand, resigning himself to the fact that he'd have to pull her along in order for her to make any sort of progress in running. "Clay, we need an exit!"

_"Circle around the north side of the building; you'll have cover."_

The siblings took a sharp turn, sprinting through the halls with Sky slowly starting to gain her balance on the heels. Jensen was shouting at people to move out of the way as they barreled through the small walkways in between cubicles. They finally made it out of the area and were at the helpdesk again before they ran out of the glass doors and made their way towards the elevator. Jensen placed his briefcase on the ground to start pounding on the button, praying for the elevator to move faster.

"Freeze!"

Jensen looked up quickly and saw three security guards with bullet-proof vests and guns aiming them at him and Sky. Immediately he stepped in front of his sister and stood with his back towards the window, raising his hands. "Wow, this got serious."

"Do you have a gun? Cause I don't," Sky whispered to her brother, standing on her tip-toes slightly to see what was happening over his shoulder.

Instead of answering, Jensen looked over his shoulder, past his sister and towards the building across the street from them. He could see the flash of something shining, the sign of the Cougar at his rifle giving them cover. So he whirled back around to look at the three men, extending his fingers out to look like guns. Sky's muscles tensed. Jake was going to try the same thing that Barney did with Billy nearly a year ago. "I'm warning you, I am a lethal killing machine. It was a secret government experiment. They did things to me… spooky stuff… anal stuff. Turned me into a dangerous telekinetic. As the ancient Tibetan philosophy states: Don't start none, won't be none." Sky rolled her eyes from behind her brother's back, wondering just how his was a certified genius.

It seemed like the guards were as exasperated as she was because the man to their right holstered his gun to pull out two pairs of black handcuffs. "Telekinetic your way out of this."

"Pow!" Jensen exclaimed, pretending to shoot at the guard approaching them. At the very second that Jensen 'shot', a bullet struck the man in the chest, hitting the vest and sending him skidding back on the floor. Jensen grinned before aiming at the man on their left. "Boom!" Another bullet struck the man in the chest, sending him to the ground. Sky couldn't help but smirk as her brother aimed both his fingers at the security guard in the middle who looked positively terrified. "Face down, or I'll make your heart stop beating with my mind," he threatened. Almost immediately the guard crawled onto the ground, pushing his gun away. The blonde hacker laughed in amusement and shot a grin towards his sister before turning around completely to make an 'okay' symbol and smile to the building across the street. "Thank you, Cougar."

"He's a hell of a shot," Sky said as Jensen raced over to the elevator to start frantically pressing the button again. She sighed when she noticed what he was doing. "Jake, pressing the button over and over again won't—"

"Freeze!"

The siblings tensed and turned to see two other guards now in the hallway with guns aiming at them. "I have a strange sense of déjà vu," Jensen muttered, holding his hands up in the air.

"Watch out! He's telekinetic!"

The redhead guard looked down at his fellow officer on the ground and looked confused. "Are you stupid?"

"Oh thank God!" Sky cried out dramatically. She screwed her face up into a frightened and relieved look, taking quick steps towards the guards. "Please help me! H-He grabbed me as a hostage! Please, please help!" She continued to cry out, her voice guards immediately swung their guns around to aim solely at Jensen. If he didn't know what his sister was doing, he would've pouted.

"It's alright Miss. Just step over to us. He can't hurt you now, you're safe," the redhead guard said gently, stretching out a hand towards her. She accepted the outstretched hand and clambered behind the man, holding onto his shoulder tightly.

"Thank you," she sobbed before she smirked, all traces of her 'fear' gone within seconds. "You two are so nice. I kinda feel bad about this." Before the two guards could say or do anything, sky kicked the man's knee so he crumpled to the ground. She was vaguely reminded of her fight with Cougar that started the same way, but she ignored the thought as she reached forward and pried the gun out of the man's hand and kneed him in the face before aiming the gun at his surprised partner. "Drop it," she ordered, aiming at his temple. The man glared her way before tossing his gun down onto the floor. "Good, now I'm really sorry about this." She hit the back of his neck with the butt of the gun and watched him drop to the ground.

"Not bad for wearing heels and a skirt," Jensen complimented as the elevator finally arrived on their floor.

"I'm surprised I didn't actually break my ankle somehow," she retorted as she walked over into the elevator with him.

"Yin would be so proud," Jensen teased.

"Yin would probably have an aneurism because I attempted to fight in four-inch heels," she replied, shifting slightly on her feet as they waited for the elevator to make it to the lobby. "Heels are not made for fighting."

"Well think on the bright side, you get your combat boots back the second we get out of here," he pointed out just as the doors opened. Immediately the two of them walked out, smiling slightly at the group of people waiting to board the elevator before walked outside the building and started walking down the street. They walked in silence for half a minute before the van pulled up next to them on the street. Jensen immediately opened it up and allowed Sky to climb in before he climbed in after them, both of them heading towards the back row where the sniper was seated. Jensen wasn't at all subtle by the way he pushed Sky to sit in the middle so she was next to Cougar while he sat on her other side.

"Did you get the information?" Clay asked, looking back at the two of them.

"We got it."

"It's a good thing neither of you got hurt," Roque piped up, looking back towards them, sending a look towards the brunette girl.

Sky narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled sweetly, though she was sure that the demolitions expert would be able to see that it was forced. "Yeah, it is a good thing," she repeated. "Now that we have the algorithm Jake can take care of hacking into the drive."

"And we can see what was so important about it that Max was moving it with armored vehicles," Clay pointed out.

"Here's your bag," Jensen said, reaching into the back and pulling out the duffel bag full of her clothes to change into. She grinned before pulling out her combat boots. She kicked off her heels and started to pull on her socks before she remembered the sniper's scarf still around her neck. She started reaching up for the scarf around her neck but before she could even start undoing the fabric from around her neck she felt the sniper touch her arm lightly, catching her attention. She looked up and saw that he was smiling at her slightly.

"Keep it," he said, tapping the bandana that was still tied around his wrist.

Sky smiled up at him and nodded, leaving the scarf on her neck. "Thanks." She could feel her brother's stare on the two of them, so she looked away from the sniper and started pulling on her combat boots. She knew she'd have to take them back off when she got back to their 'base' so she could change into her clothes, but for the moment she was just glad to be out of the heels. She leaned back in her seat and was immediately poked in the ribs by her brother, causing her to yelp and spaz out, scooting away from him and closer to the sniper instinctively. The action earned curious looks from the others and an impish smile from Jensen. She glared his way, knowing he poked her just to watch her spaz out and move closer to Cougar because she was ticklish. The second the mission was over and they were all back home she was totally going to kick his ass.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Houston, Texas_

_October 4th, 2013_

"Who's got the hard drive?" Jensen asked from his spot at the table. The Losers had all gone back to the junk yard they'd claimed as their unofficial temporary base after the successful mission in Goliath. While Jensen hadn't bothered to change out of his clothes, Sky had quickly changed out of her disguise and changed into a pair of jeans, her combat boots and a tank top. Jensen had noticed that ever since Cougar told her to keep his scarf, she hadn't removed it but he was smart enough not to point it out. He already got death-glared for tickling her in the van as it was. The seven were all around the table, with Clay opposite Jensen, Roque and Pooch perched on the tractor behind the hacker, Aisha was perched on the desk in front of Jensen, and Cougar was half on and half off a chair nearby while Sky was leaning on the table beside her brother.

"Here," Roque spoke up, walking over and handing the drive to the blonde.

"Okay, uploading the algorithm," he narrated as he plugged in the drive and the flash-drive to his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he started the upload and sorting through the code before he finally gained access. "Holy shit, girlfriend was right," the blonde muttered, sitting back in his chair as he read through the code. He started laughing before pointing towards the laptop in front of him. "It's a courier drive."

"A what?" Pooch asked looking up from where he was lounged out on the tractor.

"Twenty-first century bagmen," he started explaining. "Russian mob banks pioneered them. It's like an electronic bearer bond."

Pooch heaved himself up to move closer to Jensen, shaking his head. "Okay, now say that again but a lot slower and dumber."

"Okay… pretend you're super evil and you want to move a ton of your ill-gotten blood money, but you can't because it can be tracked. So you load your cash onto this bad boy and you can physically move it anywhere you want to go."

"Kinda like having a suitcase full of money but not as heavy and more efficient?" Sky guessed as Aisha moved to stand next to her so she could look at the computer screen.

Jensen nodded. "Exactly."

"And we have Max's courier drive, right?" Roque repeated.

Aisha grinned as she pointed to the number on the screen. "We have Max's 400 million dollars."

Cougar whistled at the large amount and shook his head while Jensen and Sky grinned at one another. "Alright Clay, before you go and do something noble, like smashing it, I say we go on Amazon and get a jet," Pooch put in.

"It doesn't work that way," Jensen cut in. "Unfortunately, courier drives can only load and unload on their home systems. Although if we _were_ going to buy stuff I'd say a canary yellow stretch Hummer."

"Am I the only one that wants to get a couple bottles of tequila and a lot of very nice new shiny weapons?" Sky asked with a grin. Cougar perked up at the word 'tequila'.

"Tequila?" He asked, grinning slightly as he looked towards the brunette woman.

Sky smiled back at him and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "I have some Jose Cuervo in my bag if you want—"

"No, we're not spending any of the money," Roque cut in—causing Jensen to glare at the Skougar interference—before looking to Clay. "We're going to trade it back to him, he's going to get his money, and we're going to clear our names."

"No, we made a deal," Aisha argued.

"Aisha," Clay spoke up, interrupting the argument before it could escalate more. When she was silent he turned to look at Roque. "He's gotta kill us now, you know that."

"Yeah, I know that."

"This thing has a record of every IP address it's been jacked into and there's one address that comes up a lot. It's obviously some place this keeps going back to," Jensen spoke up, catching the attention of the others once again.

"Max's base of Ops," Clay guessed.

"Port of Los Angeles," the blonde announced, sucking his teeth and sitting back slightly. "That thing probably has files on every black-book op he's ever pulled."

"Including Bolivia," Pooch finished.

"We could hit him there and we can clean him out, expose the world to what he's done."

"Clear our names in the process," the Colonel said, looking to Roque.

The knife fanatic nodded. "Alright, it's a good plan."

"And we still kill him?" Aisha asked a tad maliciously.

"Oh absolutely."

Sky looked around the group and raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing this means we're taking another road trip, huh?"

"You think right. Everyone pack up and get ready to move."

* * *

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6__th__, 2013 _

"Are we sure that it was a smart idea to let Aisha and Sky go by themselves to steal a boat?"

The four other men grumbled slightly at Pooch's question, not really sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea. The five men were waiting on the docks about three miles away from the Port. When they first arrived around twenty minutes ago, Clay had started cooking up this grand plan on how to steal a boat to use as their transportation. Aisha, however, suggested that she and Sky could get a boat much easier and much faster. So the two women had gone off, into the marina in order to enact their own plan; the plan that they hadn't shared with the men.

"They should be fine," Clay shrugged.

"I'm more worried about other people," Jensen piped up, looking around nervously.

Pooch raised an eyebrow towards the hacker. "You're not worried about your girl getting hurt?"

"Nah, she can handle herself."

"She fights well," Cougar piped up, looking towards Jensen.

The blonde grinned. "You saw her in Goliath, huh?" He nodded. "Yeah, she's pretty badass."

"Thanks."

Jensen let out a manly yelp—_not_ a high-pitched scream—before whirling around to see his sister behind him, rolling her eyes with a smile on her face. "When did you even get there?!"

"Just now. C'mon, we've got the boat," she spoke up simply, gesturing for the others to follow behind her. They quickly fell into step behind her as she walked along the docks heading towards a large boat called the 'Triton' that Aisha was currently standing on, tossing their bags onto the deck.

"Wow, how'd you get a boat like that?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow as they all climbed aboard.

"We just told the guys at the marina that we wanted to do a 'Girl's Gone Wild' fall break addition since in California the weather is so nice," Sky admitted with a bit of a smirk on her face, looking back to see that the boys looked surprised. "They didn't question anything else after and only asked that they get an autographed copy when we're done."

Roque raised an eyebrow. "They really bought that?"

"They're men," Aisha said, smiling at them. "It's so easy to get men to do anything when they're thinking with their other head."

"So true," Sky agreed before untying the boat from the dock and allowing Jensen and Cougar to help her onboard. Pooch immediately climbed into the wheelhouse to start driving and Cougar started setting up his sniper rifle on the side of the deck for recon whenever they reached the port while the others started settling in. Jensen was leaning against one of the railings of the boats with Aisha resting against the mast, Roque standing by the wheelhouse door and Clay near Roque. Sky was leaning against the railing right by the sniper, trying to squint past the bright sun to see if they were there yet. Cougar tried not to look at the woman beside him, but he couldn't help but look her way a few times. It took only ten minutes before they were in sight.

"What are we up against?" Clay asked.

Cougar started peering through the scope on his rifle, scanning the area when he saw the soldiers patrolling the port wearing blue camo and a very familiar patch on their shoulder. "Kryon," Cougar called out to the others once he was sure.

"Oh shit," Roque muttered.

Aisha frowned. "Who's Kryon?"

"Kryon Security Solutions; ex-Special Forces," Jensen supplied helpfully.

"Basically, a bunch of guys like Cougar without the warm and cuddly side," Pooch added on.

"That's hard to imagine."

Several pairs of eyes shifted to Sky and she felt her cheeks turn pink as she cleared her throat, turning to look back at Clay, ready to shift the topic to anything else. "So, what do we do?"

"We start recon at 0600. Anyone not here for it… I'll understand," Clay replied before looking to Pooch. "Get us back to the docks so we can get some rest."

"Got it."

Pooch got into the wheelhouse again and started steering them back while Clay and Aisha followed him into the wheelhouse to discuss the plan. Roque grumbled something before moving towards the front of the boat while Cougar started stowing his rifle away. He was in the middle of placing it in the case when a loud _buzz_ caught his attention. He looked up and saw Sky fumbling with a phone she had pulled out of her back pocket. As soon as she saw the screen her eyes widened and her face paled slightly.

"What's wrong?" Jensen asked, looking her way.

"Nothing," she said quickly, grabbing her phone before moving away from both of the men, towards the end of the boat. "Just gotta check something."

Sky was pretty sure that her behavior was going to raise some suspicion between Jensen and Cougar, but she didn't care at that point in time. That was the _fourteenth _notification she received saying that she had a new voicemail over the past few days. And she was pretty sure the fact that the latest ones were from her father and the other Expendables _wasn't_ a good thing. She started listening to her voicemail and placed her hand on the railing, looking out towards the water.

**"****You have fourteen new messages. First message from Tool: **_Hey Baby-Face, I know you're probably caught up in talking with Jolene, but call me and let me know you're good. _**Next new message from Tool: **_Hey, it's me again, just call me back and let me know how it's going. _**Next new message from Tool: **_Baby-Face, I haven't heard from you yet and you know my rule. Call me back. _**Next new message from Tool: **_C'mon Baby-Face this isn't funny, call me._**Next new message from Tool: **_Sky, call me back. _**Next new message from Tool: **_Skylar Christmas, I need you to call me back now. You've been gone five days and I haven't heard anything from you. Don't make me call your dad. _**Next new message from Tool: **_Sky seriously, this isn't okay anymore. You've been gone for more than a week. Call me, please. Let an old man know you're okay. _**Next new message from Tool: **_Sky, I called your dad. If you're in trouble don't you worry, we'll take care of you, alright? Just please try and call me. _**Next new message from Caesar: **_Where are you at Baby-Face? Call one of us or Jenny._**Next new message from Toll: **_Is everything alright? Call us, Baby-Face. We're worried. _**Next new message from Yin: **_Baby-Face, call us back now. _**Next new message from Gunnar: **_Baby-Face, please tell us what's going on and call back. We care about you. Please just call. _**Next new message from Barney: **_Baby-Face, you better be in some serious shit, because by the looks of it your dad is gonna pop a blood vessel. I know you can handle yourself, but call us back and let us know you're okay. There's only so much I can do to convince Lee to calm down._**Next new message from Dad: **_Skylar Christmas, you call me back __this instant__! I don't care where you are or what you're doing, you __call me__! I need to know you're alright, okay? Call me and let me know you're okay and we'll try and wrap this mission up in Bulgaria. You had _**_bette_****_r _**_be back at the shop before I get there. Call me back… please. _**End of messages. Main menu."**

"I'm so screwed."

_"__Todo esta bien?" _

Sky jumped in surprise before looking over her shoulder to see Cougar behind her, his dark eyes showing concern. Her heart pounded in her chest at his sudden appearance—and she was pretty sure it wasn't just because he startled her. He was very close to her, his chest a few inches away from her back, and her mind immediately went to what happened in the alleyway. Ever since then she had an even tougher time getting any sleep. Whenever she wasn't having nightmares of her family and friends dying she was having dreams that involved the Spanish sniper. But she still couldn't read Cougar. There were times when she thought he was interested and then there were times that it was like he avoided her. Before the Goliath job, he had given her his scarf to wear over the comms on her neck and when she tried to give it back he told her to keep it. It was the reason she still had it around her neck. And he still had her bandana around his wrist. But whenever Jensen was around or mentioned he'd close off or make some excuse to leave the area. If she didn't know better she would've thought that Cougar really did think Jensen would be mad at him if he showed interest in her. But Jensen told her he talked with Cougar. So she was still confused.

"Sky?"

She snapped her gaze up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Cougar was looking down at her seriously, rubbing his thumb in circles on her arm in a soothing manner. Her cheeks turned pink at the action and at the realization that she had zoned out, thinking about the very same man standing in front of her. "I'm fine," she assured with a small smile. "I just got a call from my family."

"They're worried about you," Cougar guessed.

"Panicking would be a better way of putting it."

"Why?"

Sky grinned sheepishly. "I didn't tell anyone that I was going to Bolivia." Cougar raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. It was a look that said he understood why they'd be panicking. "Yeah, I know, I know, it wasn't my best idea."

"Call them," Cougar suggested.

"I can't. They're still working and I can't distract them from what they're doing."

"I would want to know if you were okay no matter what I'm doing."

Sky's muscles tensed and she locked eyes with the Spaniard. They were a warm chocolate brown and his expression was soft and open. Her heartbeat picked up and she bit at her lip causing his eyes to dart down to look at her lips, swiping his tongue over his own before he looked back up to her eyes. She took a small step forward and felt Cougar's hands pull her forward gently. He started leaning in slowly and—

"Hey guys!"

Cougar and Sky sprang apart and turned to see Pooch walking towards them. The man had an awkward and surprised expression on his face making it apparent that he saw the position she and Cougar were just in. "Uh… we just docked and Clay and Aisha took off and Roque went somewhere. I was going to get some Chinese if you wanted some…" Pooch said awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah," Sky said, clearing her throat and trying to fight off her embarrassment. "I just want an order of chicken and broccoli and some chicken wings."

"Yeah, that's what Jensen said you'd order," Pooch commented. For some reason Cougar tensed up beside her at Jensen's name and Pooch shot the sniper a look. "Cougar, you wanna come with to help carry the bags?" The heavy weapons specialist asked in a tone that said it wasn't a question. The sniper nodded and quickly moved over towards him. "We'll be back soon," Pooch assured, tossing a forced smile towards Sky before the two walked away, talking in hushed tones.

It took less than a minute after they left for Jensen to appear from the wheelhouse, a pair of binoculars in his hands and an exasperated look on his face. "I _told_ him what you and Cougar wanted so that he wouldn't interrupt! Why'd he even take Cougar for?"

"He said he needed him to—" Sky cut herself off and narrowed her eyes at her brother, processing his statement fully. "Were you watching us?"

Jensen slowly hid the binoculars behind his back. "No."

"You creeper! Why were you watching?"

"You two are my OTP! I'm going to make this happen!"

"What even _is_ that?"

"Don't worry about it," Jensen retorted, shaking his head and walking up to his sister. "Anyway what was going on with your phone?"

"Voicemails," she sighed, remembering her original problem. She held her phone out to him and waited as he listened. His face went from curious to surprise to concern and then to amusement by the time the voicemails were over. He handed the phone over to her and laughed.

"Oh you are _so_ screwed."

"That's what I said."

"So you didn't tell Tool what you were going to do?" Jensen asked with a frown.

She shrugged. "I didn't even know what I was going to do until I got to Jolene's house. It was a spur of the moment thing and I knew if I told him he'd say no."

"Good luck, my dear sister. You're so going to need it when you get back."

"I'm hoping that finding you alive with wipe the slate clean."

"Knowing our family? It probably won't."

"Damn it."

* * *

The entire way to and from the Chinese restaurant Cougar was in a foul mood. The second he'd left with Pooch, the married man had torn into him, chastising him for nearly kissing Sky with Jensen on the boat. He had listened in silence, letting the heavy weapons specialist call him out even though he was already kicking himself enough about it. He knew how bad it was that he almost kissed her. He knew how bad it was that he was mad at Pooch for interrupting the almost kiss. And he knew how bad it was that he hadn't thought of Jensen at all during the entire time.

Cougar hated himself for being so weak. He hated himself for getting feelings for his best friend's girlfriend in the first place. So he didn't argue or make excuses for himself to Pooch. Instead he remained silent and just helped carry the bags back onto the boat. There was the sound of laughter as they entered, and they climbed into the wheelhouse and saw Jensen seated at the desk with his laptop out and typing away at something while Sky was seated on the railing by the desk, her back leaning against the wall of the boat, covering her mouth as she tried to downgrade her laughter. The sniper felt a stab of jealously before it was quickly replaced by guilt and anger that he felt jealously in the first place.

"Food's here!" Jensen cheered enthusiastically. "Tell me you got my egg roll."

"Yeah, yeah, we got your egg roll," Pooch retorted, placing the bags onto the table opposite the two and started passing out the food. Once everyone had their meals they started eating and talking away—Jensen pausing in his eating so he could hand Pooch the tablet he'd hacked into so he could see Jolene in the traffic cams. Pooch had perched himself on the hacker's other side. That left Cougar to sit on the railing beside Sky—despite his better judgment and the look he received from Pooch. Thankfully nothing monumental happened and the dinner ended up being rather nice. For at least an hour the four could pretend that things were actually normal.

Sky and Jensen had been in charge of clean-up since Pooch and Cougar had gotten the food, and it took only a few minutes before they were back in their seats again. Cougar had taken to cleaning his revolver, Sky was listening to music, Pooch was watching the traffic cams and kissing the ring around his neck and Jensen was looking stuff up on his computer.

"Aw shit," Jensen muttered randomly.

"You okay?" Pooch asked, looking towards the younger man.

"The Petunias are playing the Marigolds on Sunday."

Sky pulled out one of her earbuds and frowned. "Their playoff game is this week against the Marigolds?"

"So?" Pooch asked again in confusion.

"These are the Marigolds," Jensen retorted, turning the screen around to show the heavy weapons specialist the pictures of the large group of girls. They were much bigger than most kids their age.

"Those are some hard looking eight year olds."

Jensen laughed. "Right? Look at these inmates!"

Footsteps caught their attention before Roque appeared from the stairs in between both Sky and Cougar, entering the wheelhouse and looking to Jensen and Pooch after tossing a dirty look towards the brunette girl. "What are you doing?"

The blonde turned his laptop back towards him and closed out of the picture. "Uh, I was just trying to uh, connect Fadhil's drug operation with Max's cash. There's about four million missing. I'm just trying to track it down."

"What are you doing there Pooch?" Roque asked, moving over towards the Captain's chair and sipping at his mug.

"Jensen hacked a satellite for me earlier," the man replied, gesturing vaguely to the laptop in his hand.

"What do you need a satellite for?"

Wordlessly Pooch turned the laptop around to show Roque the traffic video of Jolene walking across the street with a shopping cart before she started grabbing onto her stomach. "Wait a second, is that today?" Roque asked in surprise.

Pooch nodded with a smile on his face. "Yeah… she probably knows if it's a boy or girl by now."

"Congratulations man."

"Thank you," the soon to be father replied, placing the mini laptop down and running a hand over his head. He let out a small laugh. "You say that now, but you know Jolene. When I show up alive, she's going to kill me." He let out a sigh before shaking his head. "I can't let her have that baby without me." Roque made a face. "What?"

"Pooch, we all know we're going to die in there," the knife fanatic replied. Pooch looked around the wheelhouse and saw Jensen sighing, Cougar clenching his jaw and Sky biting at her lip, looking up at the ceiling. "We can do that without you."

"No you can't."

"Go home."

Before Pooch could respond, Jensen grinned at his computer. "Got it!" The others all turned to look at him. "Fadhil's four million didn't disappear, it just moved into a private account."

"Whose account?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a family trust. It says in the event of his death it goes to his kid who goes by the name of…" Aisha's picture popped up on the screen and everyone immediately tensed. "Shit!"

Before anyone could do anything, Sky and Cougar had hopped off the railing and were sprinting down the steps to make it to the deck while the heavy boots of the others followed after them, Roque calling out curses, while Pooch started spouting off where Clay and Aisha had gone. The second their boots hit the deck they all sprinted over and onto the docks, running towards the van. Sky got to the door first to open the side and started to climb in when she felt hands on her waist, helping her along courtesy of Cougar. She knew he was trying to just rush her in so he and Jensen could pile in faster, but still her heart jumped slightly. She didn't even bother trying to get into a seat and instead sprawled out on the ground while Cougar and Jensen took the seats on either side of her. Pooch and Roque climbed into the front and then they were taking off, heading towards the motel at speeds that probably weren't legal.

After a sharp turn that jostled Sky around she grabbed onto Cougar and Jensen's arms, to ground herself while making sure she had her gun in her waistband. In less than five minutes they'd made it to the motel and piled out, Roque leading the charge with Cougar behind him, Pooch behind the sniper and the brunette mercenary behind him. Jensen had been in front of her, but he tripped going up the stairs so she just went around him, knowing he'd catch up. Once they reached the door of the motel, Roque kicked it in with his gun out and they others followed his lead, storming into the room aiming it at Aisha who was only clad in underwear, holding two guns. One was aimed towards a similarly clothed Clay while the other was pointed in Jensen's direction, angled downwards just as he ran in.

"She's Fadhil's daughter!" Jensen called out. "She's Fadhil's daughter—oh shiiiit," he muttered, putting his hands up in the air. "She's got a gun… and it's pointed at my dick Clay! It's pointed at my dick! Clay!"

"Would you rather it was pointed at your face?" Pooch retorted.

"I know it makes no sense, but yes!"

Aisha raised an eyebrow and lifted the gun up a fraction of a bit to aim at the hacker's face.

"Better?"

"Not really."

"Where's your gun, Jensen?" Pooch asked in exasperation.

"In the van."

"What's it doing there?"

"Not much."

"Would you two shut up?" Roque asked the two harshly.

Jensen turned to him. "Well what if it was pointed at _your_ dick?"

_Bang!_

Sky froze slightly after hearing the gunshot quickly followed by her brother's shout of pain as he collapsed to the ground. Her heart plummeted and she covered her eyes as Aisha shot at the mirror above the bed, using it as cover to dive into the bathroom. The mercenary only managed to shoot a few bullets before her worry won out and she holstered her weapon and crouched down beside her brother who was rolling around and holding onto his left arm, pain on his face. The others were still firing at the bathroom, giving the young brunette ample time to check on Jensen. "Jake, where are you hit?"

"Arm," his hissed in pain. Soon the gunshots stopped and Pooch and Cougar were on the floor with her, crouched beside Jensen. "She shot me in my arm!" He called out in pain again, looking towards the two men.

"You're gonna live," Pooch replied to him, patting his head slightly.

Cougar pulled at the sleeve of his shirt and the hacker called out in pain. "Cougar, be gentle!"

The wound, thankfully, wasn't too deep. "Stitches," the sniper said simply, letting go of the sleeve again and reaching down to help the hacker to his feet while Pooch ran over to help Clay and Roque in the bathroom.

Sky shot up after him and hovered around like a mother hen, looking to Cougar. "You guys have stitches in the van, right?"

The Spaniard shook his head, a worried look on his face. "No."

Sky looked from the sniper to her brother and saw that he was still grimacing in pain as Cougar supported him and he tried to send her a reassuring smile despite the pain he was in. That caused her blood to boil and thoughts of murdering the Bolivian filled her head. "I'm going to kill her," Sky hissed as she grabbed for her gun again and turned to join the other men when Pooch walked over and shook his head at her, seeming to know what she was going to try.

"She's gone. Escaped out the window."

Clay and Roque came out of the bathroom with Clay's posture tensed in anger. "We've got to go. Cops are on their way and we need to get Jensen patched up."

Sky clenched her jaw and turned to look back at her brother. His face was starting to pale slightly from pain and he was leaning on Cougar, while one of his hands was wrapped around the gunshot wound. She exhaled sharply through her nose and nodded, moving back over to him, helping Cougar maneuver him out the room. The only reason she wasn't out hunting Aisha down on the streets was because her brother needed her. But the second she was sure he was fine, she would track her, find her and kill Aisha.

* * *

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6th, 2013 _

Glass fell onto the concrete from the broken window of the small convenience store/pharmacy. Thankfully there were no alarms. Cougar and Sky were the only two in the alleyway behind the store where the window was. Sky was looking around cautiously, while the sniper dusted the glass fragments off of his hat from where they fell once he threw the rock. He whistled to the brunette lowly, causing her to turn immediately. Wordlessly he pulled out the pair of black leather gloves with the index finger cut out he usually used on missions. He handed it to her and gestured towards the window above his head. "Be careful with the glass."

"Thanks," she smiled slightly, slipping them on and backing up a few paces so she was pressed against the wall opposite him. Cougar immediately pressed his back against the brick wall behind him, bending his knees and interlocking his hands in front of him. He nodded to her to show he was ready and she ran towards him. She placed her left foot into his interlocked fingers and placed her hands on his shoulders. In one quick and fluid move she jumped up with her right leg as Cougar did the same, using his legs and arms to send her up towards the window. She caught the edge and pulled herself up before clearing out a few pieces of glass and disappearing from sight into the window.

Seeing that she was in the building he walked back around the front to stand with Roque, Pooch, Clay, and Jensen who were all waiting at the glass door. It took only seconds for Sky to appear and unlock the door for them. She ushered the men inside as the five headed straight towards the back area where the pharmacy was located. Clay and Roque cleared out and disinfected the counter while Pooch held onto Jensen and Cougar went down the aisles to look for a few bottles of peroxide, sterile needles, and thread.

"I hate stitches," Jensen muttered out loud as he was laid onto the make-shift operating table by the heavy weapons specialist, still holding onto his arm that was tied up by Pooch's bandana.

"Everyone does," Sky retorted, walking back over to the men and opening up some container. She pulled out a doggy chew toy and held it out to him.

Jensen looked at it and grinned slightly. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

The brunette girl rolled her eyes and shoved the toy into his mouth as Cougar returned with the supplies. "Bite down on that," she ordered before helping the sniper. She took care of cutting the sleeve of Jensen's shirt and untying the bandana before pouring peroxide over the wound—which resulted in a sharp inhale and a small _squeak_ from the chew toy as Jensen bit down on it—while Cougar started washing his hands and threading the needle. The second Cougar started stitching up the wound there was another _squeak_ and the blonde automatically reached out for his sister's hand. She hooked her hand around his and held it firmly while petting his hair slightly. Her eyes were on the wound and Jensen's were on the ceiling so neither saw the slight muscle twitch in the sniper's jaw as he pried his gaze away from the two and focused on patching up the hacker. It was silent for a few minutes as the sniper continued his job before the heavy weapons specialist broke the silence.

"She burned us," Pooch spoke up, dropping his hands onto the edge of the table by Jensen's feet. "The whole op's blown. She has our names, faces…" Pooch trailed off, looking towards Clay as a horrified thought crossed his mind. "Does she know about our families?" The CO didn't look up. "Damn it, Clay, look at me!" Slowly Clay looked up. "Does she know about our families?"

"…yes."

Cougar lifted his eyes up to stare at Clay just as he finished stitching Jensen's arm. The hacker looked just as worried as the sniper felt as he turned to their CO and pulled his glasses off to rub at his eyes and Sky ran a nervous hand through her hair, staring up at the ceiling. "I-I need to get home to Springfield. Jensen and Sky can come with me, they live in New Orleans. I'm done."

There was silence for a few seconds before Roque straightened up from where he'd been slumped over on the counter. "Well, I'm going to the Port, okay?" The knife fanatic looked around before stopping at Clay.

Clay stared at his second in command for a long time before he straightened up and looked towards his other three men and the sole female of their group. "You four get back to your families. We'll get Max. I did this. I made the call in Bolivia. I put your families in danger."

"Just let me and Clay finish it," Roque concluded.

"So you two idiots are going to go in there blind?" Pooch challenged.

Cougar didn't even need to think about it. These men were his family. He wouldn't let them down. He pulled his revolver out from his waistband to cock the hammer back and nodded towards the others. "Three."

"Hey, getting shot's great," Jensen spoke up though the expression on his face told the others he was lying. "I'm up for doing it again."

Sky smiled slightly and rolled her neck. "Well, someone's got to make sure you boys don't get yourselves killed. Might as well be me."

"Five idiots," Roque counted off.

Pooch looked at the five for a long time, a hard look on his face before he forced a laugh and shook his head at his friends. "You sons of bitches," he muttered, dropping his head into his arms before making up his mind as he looked back up at the others. "I'll drive."

Clay smiled. "Six."


	20. Chapter 20

**VERY** **IMPORTANT!**

Okay guys, for those of you who have seen the Losers, you know what scene is coming up (and for those of you who haven't seen it, you totally should watch it!). And for a week or so, I've been dead set on following the plot of the movie. However, I've been reading some fics on the site that actually have Roque alive in them and interacting with the team in one form or another. And I really do love Roque. He had such an interesting character and I'm sure that if he were alive in the movie, it would be very interesting and entertaining to see the relationship between him and Aisha progress (for better or worse). And because of that I have really two options. I can either stick to the plot of the movie or I can alter it to where Roque doesn't die and is still with the Losers (which I have a plan for in either case). I've got ideas for how he can blend with the Expendables and how to tackle his betrayal too. I'm split evenly as to what I should do so I need your help! I need your opinions! What do you guys think I should do? Should Roque die or live? Please help me on this!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6th, 2013 _

"Remember the plan," Clay spoke up, looking towards the back of the exterminator van that Pooch had managed to get. Cougar was busy pulling his rifle case onto his shoulders while Jensen stowed his laptop in his backpack. Sky was in the middle of coiling up repelling rope around her torso for the harness that Jensen was wearing and Roque was checking over to make sure he had his guns and the taser he would be using. After they had all decided to go back to the Port, they had quickly regained their guns before setting off. No one had bothered to change except for Sky—seeing as she'd been wearing a pair of shorts, sneakers, and a tank top—who was now decked out in all black, wearing a plain t-shirt, black leather gloves, a pair of tight-fitting black pants, and two braids on either side of her head. "Roque and I take out the guards and get in—"

"—so we can get in," Sky cut in, motioning to herself, Jensen and Cougar. "Cougar sets up and watches my six while I make sure Jensen doesn't get killed."

"I get in, get the info, get out and save the day," Jensen added on with a grin.

Pooch rolled his eyes as they came up to the first drop area where they'd leave Cougar, Jensen, and Sky. "And I wait in the van so we can haul ass outta here when we're done."

"Everyone keeps in contact," Clay ordered as the van slowed. "You three, get moving."

"Aye, aye," Jensen grinned as Cougar opened the back and the three hopped out, immediately ducking down behind an old beat-up looking car right beside the fence. The second that the van rolled out of site, the three began climbing over the fence. Cougar was the first one up and over so he could scan the area to make sure no one saw while Jensen and Sky hustled over the top.

_"__We're in. Status?" _Clay's voice cut in.

_"__The Pooch is good."_

Cougar moved closer to the two and pointed the large shipping containers that were stacked high above them.

"You two go. I'll cover you."

"You sure?" Sky asked even though Jensen immediately started peering around his area, trying to find the way to the main offices that he saw on the map he pulled up earlier. Cougar nodded his head and gave her a reassuring smile before she bit her lip slightly and started to back up towards her brother. "Be careful, okay? You watch our back, but no one's there to watch yours. Keep your eyes open."

_"__Gracias,"_ the sniper replied.

Sky smiled in response before turning to look at Jensen. He pointed in the direction they needed to go and the siblings took off, leaving Cougar alone. He quickly started scaling the container nearest him and made his way to the top of the stack, hauling himself over so he could run across the top to jump onto the edge of the next one in front of it and haul himself up with only two steps. Not once breaking stride he sprinted across the top, breathing in and out deeply and jumping when he reached the edge of the container. He brought his knees into his chest as he fell through the air before he extended them as he got closer, landing and rolling over his shoulder before getting up without missing a beat and continuing his run across the containers. He made it to his position and lowered down quickly, pulling out his sniper rifle from its case and setting it up, searching for the blonde and brunette across the area of the port.

Cougar could see Jensen and Sky through his scope. The two were hoping over a set of stair railings as they scaled a small building and jumped onto the roof. The sniper knew how good Jensen was, but he was impressed by how quickly and efficiently Sky moved to keep up with him. She was _good. _And the fact that he had a pretty nice view of her ass had absolutely nothing to do with his opinion.

If they weren't in a life or death situation, Jensen would've been grinning at the fact that he and Sky were working together again, just like they had when they were little. They were running across roofs, jumping down and rolling before taking off again, and climbing like monkeys. It was just like when they were kids and they had to run phase one of 'the Gauntlet' each time they were in trouble. It almost felt like no time at all had passed since then; they were completely in sync and they didn't even need to talk to know what the other was going to do. They were coming up on the building Jensen needed to break into. Just in front of them was a fenced in air vent unit which would be perfect for them to climb up. Jensen reached the fence first with Sky a split second behind, but while she jumped forward onto the air vent—successfully avoiding the barbed wire—Jensen hadn't.

The blonde tugged on his arm slightly and saw that the sleeve of his jacket was caught. Jensen kept tugging on it, trying to pry himself free while Sky looked back at her brother in surprise. "Just rip the sleeve off," she whispered.

"But I _like_ this jacket."

"Jacob Jensen!"

Jensen pouted slightly but followed her advice and started yanking at his sleeve, shimmying awkwardly and trying to maintain his balance with one hand and a foot as he perched precariously on the top of the fence. Just as he ripped the sleeve off, they heard a 'hey you!' come from above them. Sky looked up quickly to see the Kryon soldier standing in a tower above them and was about to curse before the man suddenly slumped forward from his perch. She blinked before looking towards the area she knew Cougar had gone, spotting the sniper sprawled out on one of the containers. She smiled in his direction and gave a small salute before she started climbing up the air vent with Jensen jumping just behind her and following her up. She swung from the air vent onto the roof nearby it and waited until Jensen landed beside her before they ran over to one of the skylights on the roof.

"Alright, you're up," Sky whispered, pulling the repelling rope off her torso and handing it to her brother, helping him set up.

"Remind me again why you're not going down there with me?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow as he tossed the rope over the edge and looked at her.

Sky grimaced. "Last time I repelled I ended up looking more like a piñata. Not something I want to repeat. I'll meet you back up here after you let Clay and Roque in."

"Don't go too far," Jensen grinned before jumping down through the open skylight, his rope making a zipping noise as he touched down on the ground. He unhooked himself and ran over to the metal doorway in the large building where he heard soft knocking. He pressed his ear against the door. "What's the password?"

"Let us in or I'll kill you," Roque retorted, his voice slightly muffled through the doorway.

"Correct," the blonde grinned as he opened the door and let his team-mates in. "The main server is two skylights over," he explained pointing towards a white door on the wall across the large room. "I'm going to be coming out that door."

"Get ready to move as soon as Cougar hits the fire alarm," Clay ordered. When he saw the blonde nod his understanding he gestured towards the rope. "Get gone."

Jensen nodded again and ran over towards the rope—ripping off his second sleeve so he was symmetrical—hooking on again before he shot up the rope, climbing back onto the roof. He ran across the roof and hopped down to the lower level and saw Sky crouching near the skylight he needed to break into, looking around cautiously. The second he made his way over to her, she stood up and gestured towards the glass. "This skylight isn't open."

"Looks like I'm gonna have to make an opening," Jensen grinned before crouching down to examine the glass. "I'm above the computer room, maybe thirty seconds out," he said over the comms.

_"__Wade's here. Last chance to get the hell out of dodge,"_ Pooch's voice came over the comms.

_"__Roger that."_

Sky watched as her brother started breathing in deeply, angling himself over the window. She stepped back slightly and frowned at his now exposed left arm, the same arm that he'd been shot in. "Don't pop your stitches. I didn't bring the chew toy along so you can bite on if Cougar has to patch you up again."

The blonde sent his sister a look before grinning. "Go Petunias." With that he jumped, crashing through the glass and repelling down to the ground. He was okay, his stitches weren't popped and he was about to get the information from the servers. Jensen grinned. "And the crowd goes wild!"

Almost immediately lights were on him and he heard the sounds of gun safety's being turned off. He looked up in surprise and saw that he was being surrounded by the Kryon soldiers, pointing guns his way. "Where are you going?" One of the men challenged. He internally cursed and held his hands up.

"How are you guys doing?" Jensen asked, loud enough for Sky to hear him.

Sky blinked in confusion before she peered over the edge and immediately saw the Kryon men surrounding her brother, moving forward and handcuffing him. Her body tensed and she prepared to jump in to help him but she saw her brother look up at her, shaking his head slightly and mouthing 'Cougar' before he was pulled out of view. Her heart started pounding in her chest and she quickly took off across the roof, heading towards Cougar's position. She hopped down off the roof and quickly scaled the closest shipping container to run across it. She could see Cougar still in his spot, sprawled out on the container with his rifle aimed at the fire alarm on the building in a different direction. He was so focused he didn't even notice the Kryon men approaching him from behind.

_"__Cougar, squelch when you're in position."_

_"__Squelch."_

"Cougar, watch your six!" Sky hissed into the comms. She saw the man tense up even from her distance before she saw a red laser targeting dot on his chest. He must've noticed it too, because he looked down before the three Kryon man surrounded him, aiming their weapons his way. He lowered his rifle down and held up his hands, his eyes meeting Sky's. She looked back at him helplessly, not sure what to do.

_"__Cougs? Cougs?"_ Pooch's voice came through.

"Guys, Jensen and Cougar are caught, Kryon is all over," she said into the comms as Cougar was hauled up to his feet and the comm was pulled out of his ear and thrown onto the ground so he couldn't communicate with the others. She waited for a response from Pooch or the others, but none came. Her heart started beating harder after seeing first hand that the Kryon were taking out their comms. "Guys, c'mon I need you to talk to me here," she muttered, ducking down into a crouch and scanning all around her, her eyes continuing to flicker back to the sniper who was trying to keep the men's attention on him so they didn't look her way. "Clay, Roque, Pooch, c'mon someone start talking."

_"__Sky, where are you? I'll come get you," _Roque's voice came over the comms.

"I'm okay for now, but where are the others?"

_"__I'm not sure. Kryon surrounded us and took Clay. I just managed to get away. Where are you?"_

Sky opened her mouth to answer before a pit formed in her stomach. Roque had asked her _twice_ where she was. And he _knew_ she was supposed to be on the roof near the skylight Jensen went through. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she started scanning the area more thoroughly, noticing that the Kryon had gotten Cougar down off the shipping container and were pulling him along on the ground while another group moved towards them, Jensen among them. "I'm next to the skylight."

_"…__no you're not."_

Her blood went cold at the words and the malicious tone of voice that Roque had taken. Things started to click into place and anger started to flow through her. "You betrayed us."

_"__Yeah, about that… I couldn't get over it like you said. Now tell me where you are."_

"I should've shot you when I had the chance," she muttered, moving across the top of the shipping container quickly and quietly so that she was hidden in the shadow of another container stacked up next to the one she was on. She made sure she could still see Cougar and Jensen—and Pooch, who was being dragged into the area—before she continued speaking. "I saw this shit happen before; same sort of situation. It almost got me and people I care about killed… all because I didn't say anything. But I'm not going to make the same mistake."

_"__You already did."_

"No, you see you're only half-right. I didn't say anything, that part's true. But the difference between this situation and the other is pretty simple. The man who betrayed us before… he was family; we loved him very much. You don't have the same luxury. You better _pray_ that I don't find you, because I will put a bullet through your skull."

_"__Nah, I don't think so."_

"Up there!"

Sky's eyes snapped up to see that the Kryon soldiers were looking her way. Jensen, Pooch, and Cougar were all looking at her with wide eyes before her brother screamed. "SKY RUN!"

Without being told twice, Sky took off, sprinting across the shipping containers. Almost immediately she heard the men shouting for someone to stop and grab her, but she didn't look around to see what they were doing. She leaped over a gap between two containers and kept running before she caught a glimpse of the water. She ran as fast as she could and heard the sounds of boots stomping on the containers behind her. She chanced a look back and saw that there were around five men running along the containers on her tail. She cursed before looking forward again, spotting the docks just ahead of her. She quickly jumped off the container she was running along, rolling on the concrete before shooting up and running towards the fence.

"Don't let her get over!"

Sky ran at the fence and climbed it in two steps, hurtling over the barbed wire and landing onto the docks as soon as the bullets started flying. She ducked her head down and scrambled to her feet, sprinting towards the docks and diving into the water. The water was extremely cold and she had to do her best not to gasp. She breathed out through her nose in an attempt not to float up to the top before she looked around. In front of her was just open water, but behind her were the docks. She swam towards it and surfaced underneath the wooden boards, breathing in air as quietly as she could while trying not to make noise as she treaded in the water.

Boots stomped on the docks just above her and she chanced a look up to see that the five men who were chasing her were now standing on the docks, guns raised and aiming into the water. "Does anyone see her?" One of them shouted.

Flashlights were immediately clicked on and Sky looked down to see that their lights were flickering through the water, shining as they tried to search for her. "Where the hell did she go?"

"She can't be that fast of a swimmer that she's gone already."

"Maybe she drowned herself. That would save time."

"Let her go," one of the men ordered. "We just needed the other four. She's not important. We weren't supposed to kill her."

"Yeah, and we're not supposed to kill the other four either, but we're gonna do that anyway. Just because that Roque guy told us not to kill them doesn't mean we should listen to them."

"Let's just go help Alpha team tie up those others. It's better than trying to find wherever that chick went."

"Hey? You want to mess with those losers?" One of them spoke up with a small laugh. He pulled out a gun and shot in the air three times before holstering his gun and snickering. "Let's go tell those idiots that we killed their little cheerleader. That outta get a rise outta them."

"I like it!"

The rest of the group muttered a general consensus before they walked away, joking and laughing as they talked about how they were going to tell the Losers that she was dead and how they killed her. Sky felt her anger rise again as she thought about what those men planned to do, but she didn't move. She stayed underneath the docks in the freezing cold water. Her teeth were chattering and she shook under the water, but she still didn't move. Once she was sure that the men weren't going to come back she sucked in a deep breath and dove down, swimming underneath the surface away from the docks. She surfaced only when her lungs felt like they were on fire and turned to see that she was a fair distance away from the Port. She sucked in a deep breath again and dove under the water to swim, knowing that she had a good three miles ahead of her before she made it back to the 'Triton'. She knew it wasn't a good plan, but it wasn't like she had many other options.

* * *

By the time Sky made it back to the Triton she could tell she was in the early stages of hypothermia. She was shaking violently, she was starting to get dizzy and it was hard to really focus. Her body was tired, but she attributed that to the three miles of swimming she just did. She still managed to climb up the side of the boat and haul herself onto the deck. The second she hit the deck she dropped onto her back and tried to breathe in deeply as she started pulling off her boots. She kicked them off and peeled off her socks before shimmying out of her wet pants, tossing them to the side. Her guns and knives clattered onto the deck as she tossed her pants, but she didn't pay any attention to it as she tugged off her t-shirt and gloves and yanked her wet hair out of the braids, hoping the air would dry it faster. When she was just down to her black sports bra and panties she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled up the steps towards the wheelhouse where she knew her duffel bag would be. She'd warm up, get changed and then head back to the port armed to the teeth to save the others.

Her plan, however, was thwarted the second she walked in and saw Aisha standing in the middle of the room, a t-shirt on the desk and a pair of jeans in her hands while she was still clad in her black underwear and a white bandage tied around her upper arm. Aisha's eyes snapped up to meet hers and for a few seconds the two women just stared at one another. Sky replayed Jensen getting shot in her head and her blood boiled. The cold, her shivering, her dizziness, her exhaustion; she pushed it all out of her head and clenched her hands into fists. Aisha only had time to straighten up before the brunette sprinted up the rest of the stairs and tackled Aisha into the desk behind her, hitting her back against the wood.

Aisha let out a small yelp before Sky felt an elbow dig into her back. She immediately backed off before straightening up and taking a fighting stance as Aisha moved away from the desk and stared her down. "I don't want to hurt you," Aisha hissed out, holding onto her back slightly.

"Don't worry, you won't."

Sky shot off and aimed a jab at Aisha's face which the Bolivian quickly blocked, only for it to be followed up with a forearm to her jaw, knocking her off balance slightly. Seeing that she was out of it, Sky aimed knee strikes at the woman's ribs. She heard Aisha yelp again before the Bolivian used one of her hands to claw at Sky's face. She immediately moved back when she saw her long nails so close to catching her in the eyes, but a Spartan kick to her stomach knocked her onto the ground. She quickly rolled backwards and ended in a crouch, flipping her hair back to see what Aisha was doing before taking off for the woman again. She lunged forward with a roundhouse kick which Aisha ducked before she used the same leg to deliver a heel kick. The second kick caught her and knocked her off balance again before Sky tackled her again, this time aiming for the metal railing. She misjudged her aim, however, and the two women were sent tumbling down the stairs of the boat, a rolling mass of flailing limbs before ending up hitting the deck hard.

Sky's lower back throbbed in pain from where she landed on the bottom step and her ribs were most definitely bruised. Her right shoulder was also in pain from where she landed awkwardly and she checked it quickly to make sure it wasn't dislocated. Ever since she dislocated it in Barney's car years ago she found that it was easier to injure it and if she wasn't too careful, she could end up doing it again. When she was sure that her shoulder was still intact she pushed herself up onto her knees and looked over to see Aisha trying to crawl away. It took a few seconds for her to realize that Aisha wasn't crawling _away_ from her, but _to_ the pile of weapons near Sky's wet clothes.

Pushing her pain out of her mind, she shot up and ran over to Aisha, jumping onto her back and trying to catch her in a rear-naked choke. Aisha rolled over and slipped out of her hold however, so she was on top of the brunette, straddling her hips and holding both of Sky's arms above her head. "I'm not your enemy!" Aisha hissed to the younger woman. "I'm Fadhil's daughter, but I didn't betray any of you!"

Sky glared up at the woman, knowing she was right. But she didn't care at that point in time. She used her legs to wrap around Aisha's back and pull her closer before she head-butted the Bolivian. The hold on her hands was immediately lessened and she broke free before rolling them over again so she was on top. She punched Aisha in the face and hopped off before rolling the woman onto her stomach. She pried her arm behind her back in a chicken wing and placed her knee into Aisha's palm digging into it to keep it pinned to her back while she grabbed Aisha's hair and lifted her head up, the women yelping at the awkward tilt of her neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right now," Sky hissed into her ear.

"You need me!"

"Not good enough."

"Wait, you need me!" Aisha shouted out again as Sky yanked back on her hair more, preparing to snap her neck. "Something went wrong, didn't it? That's why you're here alone. The others aren't here." Sky didn't respond, prompting Aisha to continue. "They were captured, weren't they?"

"Roque," Sky said through clenched teeth. "Roque sold us out. He handed us over to Max. And just like I do with all traitors, I'll kill him the second I finish you off."

"And do what? You're going to take on the Kryon, Wade, and Max by yourself?" Aisha challenged, grimacing in pain as her shoulder, hand, back and neck flared at the continued hold. "Admit it, you need me! If we're going to get them out of this, you'll need all the help you can get!"

"You shot Jake, why should I trust you?"

"Because if I wanted to kill Jensen, I would've," she retorted only for her hair to be yanked back more. Noticing that saying 'kill Jensen' wasn't helping her situation any, she switched tactics. "I have _nothing_ against him. He was the only one without a gun and I needed a distraction before you all started shooting at me. You wouldn't have listened to me."

"And what is it that you have to say?" Sky challenged.

"I just want revenge. I want revenge on the man that killed my father," Aisha replied through clenched teeth. "He was the _only_ one I had in my life and Max took him away from me! I want him dead. And I have to know if Clay killed my father."

"And if he did?"

"If Clay killed my father… he'll pay too."

"You just threatened Clay and you expect me to trust you?"

"At least I didn't lie like Roque. Jensen, Pooch, and Cougar… I won't do anything to them. I swear to you. You can take them away and go home, I don't care. But I have to know if Clay pulled the trigger or not."

Sky tensed for the briefest of seconds thinking it over. She could understand where Aisha was coming from. If someone had killed _her_ father she would go to the ends of the Earth, hunting the man down before giving him the worst death imaginable. And Aisha was right. There was no way she could take on the Kryon, Wade, and Max and get the others out without help. And she couldn't call in the Expendables since they were still on mission and she couldn't call in Church because he wouldn't make it in time. She was out of options.

"You kill Clay, I kill you. Understood?" Sky hissed, letting go of Aisha's hair.

"If he killed my father—"

_"__Understood?"_ Sky said in a more malicious tone.

"…understood," the Bolivian eventually muttered. Sky promptly removed her knee from Aisha's back and moved over slightly, allowing the woman to roll over onto her back and grab her arm. The Bolivian looked up at the brunette still crouched next to her and raised an eyebrow. "Just who the hell are you anyway?"

"Ever hear of the Expendables?" Sky asked.

Almost immediately, Aisha's eyes widened in surprise. "The mercenary group? They're one of the bests in the world."

Sky smirked at that. "Yeah, we're pretty good." She noticed that Aisha's eyes went as wide as saucers at 'we're' and her smirk widened. "My codename is the Baby-Face Assassin."

_"__You're_ a mercenary? You're an _Expendable?"_ Aisha asked in surprise. At Sky's nod, her surprise melted into an expression of mild respect. "I just thought you were some overeager civilian tagging along with the big boys."

"That's why I'm called the _Baby-Face_ Assassin."

"Hey! What's going on up there?!"

Sky and Aisha immediately turned their attention to the shout and saw three of the guards from the marina climbing onto the deck of their boat, shining flashlights in their direction. Almost immediately after the lights were on them, the three men tensed and their faces morphed into ones of shock and embarrassment. Sky was about to question why they looked so weird when she realized that she was very close to Aisha who was lying on the deck. Both of them were breathing heavily from the fight and both of them had nothing but underwear on since Sky had to strip down out of her wet clothes and since Aisha hadn't yet gotten dressed after she stitched up her shoulder. She shared a look with Aisha, who seemed to have noticed the same thing before they both turned back to the shell-shocked guards.

"We're just getting ready for filming, boys," Aisha purred.

Sky poked out her bottom lip into a pout and tilted her head to the side. "Unless, you guys don't _want_ us to make the—"

"No, no, no!" One of them blurted out immediately, only to be elbowed by one of his friends.

The one in the middle cleared his throat. "We just, uh… we heard some… we thought… sorry. We didn't mean to disturb."

"Don't worry boys," Aisha smirked, standing up and offering hand down to Sky to help her to her feet. Though she didn't need help up, she realized that right now, they were just trying to unnerve the guards even more. "We'll be sure to send you the first finished copy," the Bolivian assured as she held onto Sky's fingers lightly, tugging her towards the stairs with a sly smile on her lips. "We're just going to get our dress rehearsal taken care of."

"U-Uh, carry on!" The third man called out, his voice cracking.

The second Aisha and Sky were out of their line of sight they jogged up the rest of the stairs and covertly peered through the window until the three guards stumbled off the boats, talking like a group of teenagers. Once they were gone, the women straightened. Aisha began reaching for her discarded pair of jeans, while Sky walked over to her duffel bag to pull out some clothes. "Those guys are going to be so disappointed when we don't actually send them a video," Sky commented as she searched her bag.

"Well, we can always make a video," Aisha suggested with an amused tone to her voice.

Sky gave a small laugh before she pulled a black tank top and a pair of black cargo pants. She pulled on a pair of socks and made a mental note to grab her combat boots from on the deck later. She stood up and saw that Aisha was dressed in a pair of grey skinny jeans and a black tank top, lacing up her own boots. "So, how do you think we'll get the drop on them?" Aisha asked, straightening up and picking her hair up into a small messy bun.

The mercenary smirked. "I have an idea."

* * *

Again, please help guys! I could really use opinions on what to do with Roque! And I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I'd like to thank **Sensula, minstorai, **and **chibi-no-baka **for giving me their opinion on whether or not I should kill off Roque. I'd also like to give a big thanks to **Sensula, minstorai, chibi-no-baka, Midoriori, Leseratte14, Mopargirl1, NinjaChipmunk, **and **a fan**, who have all reviewed my story over the past few weeks. I can't thank you guys enough for leaving such awesome reviews and comments. I love hearing what you guys think and what you liked about the story and what I should change. I appreciate it and it helps me grow as a writer! So, I have made my decision regarding Roque's fate! But, I'll let you guys figure that out yourselves! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6th, 2013 _

The handcuffs were cutting into his wrists and his body was starting to get numb from being seated against the cold cement wall for so long, but Cougar didn't focus on any of that. There was still no sign of Clay and Roque. And Sky… The sniper clenched his jaw tightly and exhaled loudly through his nose. The Kryon killed Sky. He had heard the gunshots—they all did—but still he didn't think that they had caught her. And Jensen had been positive that they hadn't got her. But when the Kryon came back, boasting and laughing saying they had killed her and tossed her body into the water… Cougar felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. Pooch had looked horrified and Jensen completely lost it. He had screamed and tried to attack the soldiers, despite the fact that they were outnumbered and handcuffed. He attempt had gotten him hit in the back of the head and knocked out.

Cougar and Pooch had immediately started shouting and screaming at the soldiers before they walked away laughing, leaving only a couple guards to watch them. That had been probably over an hour ago. Jensen was now completely conscious but horribly quiet, an unreadable expression on his face. Pooch was watching over both Cougar and Jensen, his parental instincts starting to kick in with the two younger men, while Cougar was scanning the warehouse they were in, looking for any way to get out of their situation. He still hadn't come up with any plan, but based on the fact that there was light outside, he was sure that it was early in the morning. But that didn't help him.

Suddenly a large group of Kryon walked into the building with M-16's in their hands. "Time to meet your maker boys," one of them called out as the three were roughly pulled up to their feet. Jensen didn't struggle against the soldiers, but Cougar and Pooch did. The sniper scanned the group and tried to come up with a plan. One of the soldiers holding Pooch had a wrapping around his wrist which might have signified an injury and one of the soldiers holding onto Jensen was short which might make it easy for them to take him out and steal his weapon. But no plan he came up with ended with all of them surviving.

They were pulled out of the warehouse and into the cool morning air. The Kryon allowed them to walk freely but walked closely next to and behind them. They were just passing another building and a SUV when they saw Clay handcuffed and being escorted by two other Kryon. The three men slowed down seeing their CO and looked around in confusion, wondering where their demo expert was. "Roque," was the only thing that Clay said before he was pushed towards the black SUV. That was all it took for Cougar to realize what had happened. Roque betrayed them. He stopped short, frozen by the revelation before a hand shoved him in the back and the Kryon soldier ordered him to move.

Reluctantly the sniper moved forward to catch up with Jensen and Pooch as they were led into an area that was full of shipping containers. They were lined up in front of the containers with four of the Kryon men behind them and six of the men in front of the three Losers. Jensen was lined up on Cougar's left and Pooch on his right before the man with the wrapping on his wrist—who he noticed was the man who pushed him in the back—stood in front of them and smirked. "On your knees."

The Losers didn't listen. The men behind them hit Jensen and Cougar in the back of the leg to force them to their knees. The man behind Cougar backed up while the shorter man behind Jensen got a firmer grasp on the back of his shirt with the muzzle of the weapon pressed against his back. Pooch, however, was still standing up, staring down the men in front of him defiantly. When the man seemingly in charge walked over and ordered him onto his knees again, Pooch spat in his face. Without hesitation the Kryon pulled out his gun and shot Pooch in each of his legs above the knee, causing him to shout in pain and collapse onto the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Pooch called out in pain.

"Pooch!" Cougar shouted in anger and fear, trying to move over to the downed man, while the Kryon behind him held him back. He struggled against him, trying to get to his friend, despite being pulled back. "Pooch!"

"You know I like that hat," the man who shot Pooch smirked, looking towards Cougar who was just let go by the other man once he stopped struggling. "That's a great hat." The Kryon soldier reached for it only for Cougar to duck away from his hand. "Hey." The soldier reached for it again only for the sniper to do the same. Getting fed up he pulled out his gun again and pressed it against Cougar's head on top of his hat. "I really don't care if there's a hole in it." Cougar glared out in the distance, knowing that he was probably about to die before his eyes landed on something on a shipping container a few yards away. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and realize that it was Aisha with a bazooka. He smirked slightly and started laughing. "What are you smiling at?" The man demanded. He gestured forward and the man turned around, spotting what the sniper had.

Jensen followed his line of sight before he saw the woman on the container. "Now that's a badass chick," he muttered. The grip on his shoulder lessened and the muzzle was taken away from his neck. The hand that had been on his shoulder was now tickling the back of his neck slightly and it took only a split second for him to realize who was behind him. His eyes popped open significantly even as he heard the sound of a knife opening. He looked down and saw that the boot right next to his leg had a knife sticking out of the front and the heel.

The bazooka was shot at a car port just near the Losers and the Kryon, creating an explosion and distracting the soldiers. The second the missile hit, the guard right behind Jensen shot out from in between him and the sniper and charged towards four of the men who were standing around Pooch. With one well-placed kick to the first man's knee, thigh, and rib cage, he screamed in pain before crashing to the ground, blood spurting out of each area he was kicked in.

Almost immediately Jensen and Cougar shot to their feet. Jensen kicked the man behind him in the stomach before hitting the man in front of him in the face and following up with a knee to the nose, breaking it and knocking him out. Cougar kicked out the leg of the man behind him and elbowed him in the face before kicking the gun out of the hands of the soldier in front of him, sending the gun scattering onto the ground by where Pooch was, the heavy weapons specialist immediately trying to reach for the weapon. Jensen used his arms as a sort of mace to knock out the soldier behind him while Cougar took out the last of the men he was dealing with. Pooch managed to grab the gun on the ground and shot the man who shot him in the leg, in roughly the same spot. "Payback's a bitch!" He shouted as the man crashed onto the ground.

The black SUV that Clay had been in crashed just around fifty yards away from them, going into one of the containers, but Cougar tried not to focus on that. He walked over to the man that Pooch just shot and stood above him, glaring down at him. "Never touch the hat, hm," he said before he lifted his leg and kicked the man in the face, knocking him out.

Cries of pain caught the attention of the three Losers and they turned to see the shorter guard singlehandedly kicking the asses of the three guards around him. He ducked underneath a wild swing before rolling on the concrete to get behind the man, using the heel blade in his boots to kick the man's back, causing him to cry out in pain and crash onto the ground as blood started pooling out of the wound. Just as the two other men pulled out guns the shorter guard ducked and pulled out knives from his boots, before tossing it into their arms. The other two guards dropped their guns and immediate grabbed onto the area the knives were imbedded before the shorter man ran up to the first on in front of him and kicked him in the ribs three times with the bladed tips of his boots before whirling around with a heel kick, hitting the other man in the shoulder before lowering the kick to hit his ribs and following up with a final kick to the knee. The two men hit the ground, screaming in pain, as the shorter guard looked around to make sure that the others were all taken out before retracting the blades back into his boots.

"What the hell?" Pooch muttered, looking at the guard in confusion, wondering why a Kryon soldier saved their asses. Cougar looked just as perplexed as the heavy weapons specialist while Jensen was beaming. He ran forward and hugged the guard, knocking the hat off, only for the two men to see that the guard wasn't a man at all. It was Sky. Her hair tumbled out of the hat and she smiled and hugged her brother back before pulling away and handing him a set of handcuff keys.

"Okay, one, Yin and your dad would be _so_ proud. Two, I totally knew they couldn't have taken you out. And three, when the _hell_ did you get those badass blade boots?" He asked with childlike excitement as he started undoing his handcuffs.

"Tool made 'em for me a couple months back," Sky grinned as she shook out her hair and pulled off the oversized Kevlar—that was much too big to be of any use to her—and tossed it to the ground before taking the keys from Jensen after he finished and started moving to the shell-shocked sniper. She undid his cuffs quickly before he tossed the cuffs to the ground and pulled the woman into a hug, catching her by surprise. "It's good to see you too, Cougs," she smiled slightly, tossing the keys over to Jensen so he could help Pooch before hugging the sniper.

"You're alive," he muttered, still holding onto her.

"Yeah, the Kryon grossly exaggerated when they said they killed me," she said before pulling away to look up at him. "You guys okay?" Cougar nodded quickly. "Good, cause we're not out of the woods yet," she muttered, pulling away to start grabbing at the M-16 she had dropped when she started attacking the Kryon and getting whatever smaller weapons she could find. Cougar followed her lead and quickly grabbed his sniper rifle from where one of the Kryon had it slung over his shoulder before he grabbed for a shotgun and jogged over to Pooch and Jensen.

"Can you stand?" Jensen asked as he finished undoing the last lock on Pooch's cuff.

"I've been shot in _both_ of my legs. What kind of dumbass question is that? Really?" Pooch retorted in aggravation while Jensen shook his head.

"So now we're Mr. Grumpy-Pants," he commented before grabbing one of Pooch's arm while Cougar grabbed the other, the two men hauling him up to his feet as he groaned in pain. "You know you're not the only one who's been shot today."

"This way," Sky called out, running in front of the three men, keeping her M-16 up and aiming at the area in front of her as she ran through the port, making sure that no one was going to find them and start firing. The group quickly moved to a small space between large piles of shipping containers where there was a black duffel bag waiting. "Right here," Sky called out before lowering her weapon and moving towards the duffel. Cougar and Jensen quickly lowered Pooch down so he was leaning up against one of the containers before they looked towards the brunette woman who was pulling out a small black box and a tablet. "Jensen, these are for you. I found your extra comms and your tablet. Set it up."

"You really prepared for everything, huh?" Jensen grinned, grabbing the two items from his sister and crouching down to get to work.

"Well if it was up to you boys, you'd probably just wing it," she smirked, before zipping up the bag and slinging it across her chest. "I've got a med-kit and spare magazines in here for whenever we need it. Pooch, we're gonna have to get you somewhere a bit more secure before we take care of your gunshot wounds. But for now we can just try and put pressure on it," she rationalized, pulling out a knife before cutting off the sleeves of the uniform she stole, crouching down to wrap the torn sleeves around each of Pooch's legs.

The man called out in pain as she tightened the two sleeves before he sucked in a deep breath trying to compose himself. He looked at the woman in front of him with a raised eyebrow, giving a small smile. "Okay, you've got to be military or something."

"Or something," she and Jensen chorused as the same time.

Pooch was curious as to what the hell Sky was before he realized it wasn't the time to start questioning. He just needed to be thankful that she helped pull their asses out of the fire. "Cougs," he called out, motioning to the shotgun on the sniper's shoulder. Cougar immediately handed it to the heavy-weapons specialist before turning back to make sure no one entered from his left.

"Comms are set!" Jensen called out, running over to hand Cougar, Pooch, and Sky their comms before placing one in his own ear. Clay just turned down the corner with weapons strapped to his chest. The blonde hacker prepared to rush over and give his CO his comm before Aisha appeared just behind Clay, aiming a gun his way.

"Clay!" The Losers all turned in her direction and Sky just looked up, narrowing her eyes slightly, grabbing for her own gun, prepared to complete her promise to kill Aisha if she killed Clay. "Did you kill him?" Aisha demanded. "My father found out about Max's real plans. He was gonna stop him. Did you kill him?"

It was silent for a few moments before Clay spoke up. "Yes." Immediately the woman looked heartbroken. "Aisha, he was a bad man."

"It doesn't matter!" She screamed back.

"I know," Clay replied, causing Aisha to look like she was about to cry. "You can kill me right now or you can let me help you do what you need to do. Either way… I get it."

Aisha was trying desperately not to cry as she stared down Clay, her finger itching over the trigger. Instead of firing at the colonel she aimed towards the three Kryon that appeared at the other end of the containers, firing at them and killing them before they had a chance to kill the Losers. The Losers all looked back to the Bolivian and saw that she lowered her weapon looking seriously at them. "Let's get Max."

Clay nodded towards her before turning back around towards his men, accepting the comm Jensen offered him and placing it in his ear before he looked around at them. "Wade mentioned something about a boat. That means they're at the docks. Pooch can you stand?"

Pooch looked up at his CO like he was an idiot. "Oh this is stupid question day. This is stupid question day and no one decided to tell me. No that's cool, it's awesome."

"C'mon Legless Pooch," Jensen piped up, moving over to grab one of his arms while Cougar grabbed the other, helping the man up so that Jensen could heave him over his shoulder. "I gotcha, here we go."

"You've been lifting more?" Sky asked with a grin, looking back towards her brother while she and Cougar moved forward.

"A bit," Jensen smirked.

"Caesar's gonna be so proud," she replied before she and Cougar surged forward with the others following behind them. They all ran towards the exterminator van that Pooch had found hours earlier and quickly piled in. Cougar hopped into the driver's seat with Jensen in the passenger seat after he placed Pooch in the back. Clay, Aisha, and Sky all piled in the back so that Clay could do a quick patch-up job of Pooch's legs and Aisha and Sky were loading their weapons with the spare magazines. Cougar drove the van quickly, taking sharp turns as they headed towards the docks before they barreled into a fence, snapping it off the hinges and tearing into the docks. Almost immediately gunshots filled the air and hit the side of their van. Cougar swerved slightly before the left front tire blew out. He stomped on the breaks and swerved to the side as the gunshots stopped ringing out.

"Everyone ready?" Clay asked as he got a grip on his weapons. When they all nodded he kicked the back doors open and jumped out, immediately firing at the first two men he spotted, trying to take cover next to the containers. Cougar hopped out the front and started using his rifle to pick off some of the other men on the ground while Sky hopped out and swung around to cover him. Pooch was firing from his spot in the van while Jensen shot out and ran towards him with Aisha providing cover for him.

Clay spotted a private plane around a hundred yards away and saw Roque standing by it, shouting at the men to finish loading the money onto the truck while looking around. "I've got Roque, the rest of you get Wade! Cougar run point cover!" He shouted before rushing off towards the private plane.

"Legless Pooch, let's go buddy," Jensen called out in as he grabbed Pooch and helped him stand. Pooch quickly shot at a Kryon soldier heading their way as Jensen brought them to cover behind a shipping container while Cougar set up over the hood of the van, getting ready to provide cover for Aisha and Sky to run.

"Call me Legless Pooch again and you're gonna be Headless Jensen," Pooch retorted as he loaded his shotgun.

"I think it's a cool name! It makes you sound like a pirate!" Jensen shouted before checking to make sure that the others weren't getting pinned down.

Pooch shouted. "Your momma's a pirate!"

Cougar picked off as many Kryon as he could from his spot by the van, giving Aisha and Sky enough time to run to cover, Aisha in the one just next to him, while Sky was taking cover near the shipping container behind him. "Go!" Aisha shouted when she was prepared. Cougar nodded and grabbed his rifle just as Aisha stepped out of her cover to start firing at the Kryon, allowing him the amount of time necessary to run toward the cover Sky was at. The brunette girl was in the middle of checking her magazine as he made it over just before bullets started pinging off their cover.

Sky looked up and nodded towards him before she reached up with her comms. "Pooch, Jensen you boys doing alright?" She asked before sliding past Cougar so she was closer to the edge.

_"We're good,"_ Jensen assured.

Sky nodded and stepped out to start firing at the Kryon before she was vaguely aware that Cougar stepped out next to her, making clean and precise shots, taking out at least five men while she managed to hit four. They both stepped back into cover just as they heard Pooch shout for Jensen to run. The brunette girl tensed slightly before she raised her hands up to the comms again. "Jensen?"

_"Just running the Gauntlet. I'm good." _

Sky exhaled in relief before spotting a crane holding up a large shipping container just a way yards away. She looked to the crane before looking up towards Cougar who was trying to catch his breath. "You take off. We need you up in the air to give us cover."

Cougar followed her gaze before looking at her in concern. "Be careful."

"I'll be fine," she assured. "Now go, I'll give you cover."

The sniper nodded once before taking off as she stepped out from cover to start shooting at the Kryon in order to give Cougar enough time to get into cover near the crane. Once she was sure he was okay she stepped back and took off, running back towards the car that Cougar had been using for cover and darted past it, jumping through the spaces between the shipping containers. She immediately saw Pooch slumped down in the same area she was running through, a shotgun in his hand and looking around nervously. "Pooch!" Sky spoke up as she stopped by the man. "Where's Jensen?"

"He went to get Max," he managed to say in between labored breaths. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go back up Clay."

"I swear you're not a normal person," Pooch muttered pushing more bullets into his shotgun and pumping the slide back to load the chamber. "Go, I'll cover you."

Sky smiled gratefully at him before taking off towards the area Clay had gone in. She held her M-16 tightly against her shoulder as she moved from in between the containers. She moved out from behind another one, scanning the area for any Kryon. She was close now to the area that Clay was in and she ran over to the nearest shipping container near where she saw the plane before. She sucked in a deep breath, pressing her back against the edge before she peered out around the corner… only to have the muzzle of a gun directly in front of her face. Her instinct to duck was the only thing that saved her from getting shot in the face.

Sky reacted immediately, using her left hand to grab the barrel of the weapon and pin it against the metal container while she pulled out her Beretta with her right hand to aim at the two other Kryon who'd been behind the soldier in front of her. Her first shot hit the closest man right in between the eyes, but her second one was aimed at the second man's wrist, seeing as he had started to lift his weapon to aim at her. The bullet hit his wrist, breaking—and possibly shattering—bone and forcing him to drop his gun as he screamed in pain. She felt a kick to her leg and the barrel being ripped out of her hands before she turned her attention back to the first man. She ducked underneath the rifle being aimed her way again and stepped into his space, pushing the gun up so it was aiming at the sky before she twisted it and pried it from the man's hands, tossing it away.

He reeled back to try and punch her, but with her standing so close it was hard for him to get any power behind a punch he'd throw. Sky was very much aware of this and used her positioning to deliver a quick right upper cut that rocked him backwards, giving her enough room to maneuver more of her moves. She reeled back for a punch before the man recovered and grabbed her right wrist to start twisting it behind her back. Arguably she could try and fight it. She could try and pry herself out of the grip and mount some sort of offense, but she remembered what Pooch said about the Kryon. They were like Cougar without the warm and cuddly side; and Cougar was pretty good. And while she took out the Kryon members earlier, that was because they were disoriented, confused, and surprised. She didn't have the same advantages here. So she decided to follow the piece of advice Yin had drilled into her mind.

Take the hits you could take, the non-lethal ones, and retaliate.

So when her arm was twisted—quite painfully—behind her back and she was slammed fast first into the shipping container—also not something pleasant to experience—she stepped on the button by her heel to let the blade extend. She kicked her leg up and hit the man with her bladed boot. If she didn't have a massive headache from her face hitting the metal she might have felt a little guilty at the fact that she had managed to kick him in the balls with the blade. But she didn't care at that point in time. She pried her arm free from his grip and pushed back as the man screamed in pain behind her. She retracted the back knife and shot the toe blade out before whirling around and delivering a roundhouse kick to the man's temple, driving the blade in and killing him. She retracted the blade again before lowering her leg and turning her attention to the Kryon who she had shot in the wrist. He was now passed out on the ground, clutching his mangled looking bleeding hand on his chest. Instead of shooting him, she let him be. He was already out of commission, and if the cops showed up—which she was sure they would—they might even be able to save him.

Shaking her head slightly, trying to clear the fog from hitting the container, she decided to ditch her M-16. She just picked her Beretta up from the ground and ran out past the container, scanning the area carefully. Just as she made it past the containers, her eyes immediately landed on the plane starting to move slowly down the strip of area. However, just behind the plane was Roque with a gun in his hand, standing over Clay who was flat out on the concrete. Sky froze in her tracks. For the briefest of seconds the image had morphed in front of her and instead of Roque and Clay she saw Gunnar and Yin.

Roque was going to kill Clay. He was going to kill him. Sky wouldn't get there in time. She took off at a dead sprint about to scream at Roque and lift her own gun in his direction when suddenly his arm lowered and the gun dropped from his hand, clattering on the pavement next to the colonel. He was rubbing his hand down his face, stopping to keep his hand over his mouth as he stared down at Clay. Sky almost stopped running right there. Almost.

She continued at her sprint before plowing into Roque, tackling him to the ground before quickly rolling up and jumping to her feet, tilting her Beretta down and aiming it at him. Almost immediately the knife fanatic looked up at her and tensed, spotting the gun in her hand. For a split second he looked like he was going to try to reach for the gun he'd just dropped before the tension left his body and he let his shoulders slump. His face changed into one of resignation and he held his hands out to his side. "How'd you get them out?" He asked, as if she _wasn't_ standing above him and pointing a gun at his head.

"Aisha helped."

"You teamed up with Aisha after she shot Jensen?" Roque questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow, out of sheer curiosity. "I wouldn't have trusted her."

"It's not like I had many options," Sky retorted before gesturing with her head towards Clay. "Is he alright?"

Roque looked over to his former CO, staring at him for a few seconds in what looked like remorse before nodding. "Yeah, he's good. So are you gonna shoot me now?"

"I was thinking about it."

"You might as well do it," he replied in an emotionless tone, staring up at her with an empty sort of look in his eyes. "It's not like I have much to live for anymore. Those guys…" he trailed off looking over to Clay who was still unconscious. "They were my family… it just took me too damn long to see that. I stabbed my brothers in the fucking back."

"Yeah, you did," she said in an even tone, wrapping her hands tighter around the gun and placing her finger so it was hovering just above the trigger.

"I didn't want the Kryon to kill them," the demolitions expert put in as an afterthought. "I thought maybe if I handed over the drive and offered to work with them that they'd let the others go. And I knew it was a stretch which was why I didn't want anyone else coming. I wanted Pooch to go home. I wanted you all to go home. I just wanted our lives back."

"Nice to know," she retorted, aiming directly at his forehead and preparing to squeeze the trigger. Just before she could do it the image morphed again and suddenly it wasn't Roque on the ground. It was Gunnar. It was Gunnar sprawled out on the ground with a gunshot wound three inches above his heart, bleeding from his chest and his bright blue eyes—the same eyes Jensen had—staring up at her. It was Gunnar lying out on the ground because he betrayed his family; because he had become unbalanced and lost. Her heart stopped and she tried to shake the thoughts from her head. It didn't help because the image morphed again and instead of the blonde Viking it was Billy. It was Billy with a large knife wound in his chest, staring up at her with a bloodied and bruised face and his hands tied. It was Billy lying out on the rocky ground of Albania on his last mission because he wanted a better life for himself and for her.

Sky clenched her jaw and sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight back the wave of emotions that had formed in her. She blinked a few times and saw Roque, staring up at her expectantly, just waiting for her to shoot him. Her hand shook slightly and she narrowed her eyes, trying to strengthen her resolve. It _wasn't_ the same! It was a completely different situation! What Gunnar and Roque did were totally different. And Billy wanting a safer life for the two of them was different than Roque wanting his life back. Just as she was about to pull the trigger she was hit with the realization that it really wasn't all that different. And she had a choice in front of her. She could choose to be like Barney and spare Gunnar; forgive him and help him get better. Or she could be like Vilain and kill Roque without hesitation or remorse because he had betrayed them. It took just a few seconds of thought before she made her decision.

Sky pulled the trigger three times.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6th, 2013 _

Sky was breathing heavily as she held the smoking gun in her hands, staring down at Roque. The knife fanatic was blinking in surprise and confusion and rubbing at his ears from the loud noise of the bullets hitting the concrete just beside his head. He looked from the holes in the ground before he looked up slowly to the brunette still standing over him. "I thought you wanted to kill me."

"I did too," she replied before aiming back at his forehead again. "Next time I have to aim at your skull because you've betrayed us, I will _not_ miss. Do you understand me?"

"You should've shot me," Roque whispered, still looking surprised before he looked angry. "You should've shot me! What do I have to live for?! The only people I had that were family hate me! Why would I want to live?!"

"Jake's dad, Gunnar Jensen, you met him, right?" Sky asked, moving to step away from Roque, still with her gun trained on him, just in case. When he didn't respond she kept going. "He was with an Asian man named Yin Yang when he came to visit the time Jake was shot, didn't he?" This time Roque nodded slightly, though still clearly angry as he pushed himself to his feet. "Gunnar tried killing Yin about a year or so before they showed up in Fort Remington." Roque's eyes popped open in surprise. The knife fanatic was surprised. He remembered Gunnar and Yin. And from what he saw they looked extremely close. They were always talking and laughing and poking fun at one another. It almost reminded him of Jensen and Cougar's relationship. "Twice actually, now that I think about it. Gunnar almost killed my Godfather, Barney. He almost killed me too."

"Then why did you—"

"Forgive him?" Sky guessed. "Because that's what families do."

Roque felt his heart clench painfully.

"Listen to me very carefully," she started again, looking at him seriously. "You want your family back? You're going to have to fight for them. And I'll back you. I'll be in your corner and I know that Gunnar, Barney, Yin, and the others will be behind you too. But you have to work for it. You've got to earn their trust back. If you want them back, if you want your family then you stick around. If you want to go and try to find a better life, then go. I won't stop you. But know that if you leave I will be watching. I will know where you are and if you become a threat to _my_ family, I _will_ hunt you down and kill you. What are you going to do?"

Roque stared at the woman before him in surprise. Days ago she had a gun pressed to his forehead when he pulled a knife on her. He hadn't really meant to kill her; he was just angry and wanted to prove her wrong. He wanted to show her that if he wanted to, he could get to her. But she had been quick on the draw. And when he was trying to get her to turn herself in a few hours ago she had assured him that she would be the cause of his very painful death. But when she had a shot she didn't take it and instead she was offering him a second chance. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because if someone hadn't offered Gunnar the same sort of opportunity, he'd be dead. And… and I can't fault someone wanting a better life."

The knife fanatic could see that there was a storm of emotions brewing behind her eyes and he immediately knew there was a story behind her last statement. But he didn't think about that. She was offering help. And he wasn't going to throw that away. He wasn't going to throw his _family_ away; not again. "I'm here for them."

Sky finally lowered her gun and she gave the demolitions expert a small smile. "It's actually a good thing you say that. I was lying when I said I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to leave. I would've snapped your neck."

Roque couldn't help a small smile that formed on his face. "Kinda vicious."

"You have to be in my line of work."

_"__Clay, Wade's on the move,"_ Aisha's voice echoed into the comms. Immediately Sky whipped around, looking for the blonde man while Roque looked around in confusion. _"__Clay! You've got Wade coming at you!" _

"Wade's coming," Sky muttered before hearing a groaning sound. She and Roque both looked down to see Clay stirring on the ground, clenching his eyes tightly before opening them and pushing himself to his feet. The second he saw Roque he immediately went for his gun. "Clay, stop!" Sky shouted, stepping in front of the demolitions expert, a move that surprised both men.

"Get out of the way," the colonel hissed.

"No."

"I'm going to blow his brains out," Clay said darkly, his eyes full of malice. "He betrayed us Sky. He tried to kill us."

"You were unconscious and he was standing over you with a gun pointed at your face," Sky retorted, looking seriously at the colonel who tensed at her words. "If he wanted you dead he could've killed you while you were still out cold. We don't kill him."

"It's not your decision to make."

"It's not _your_ decision to make," she hissed back, her voice taking a steely edge. "You lost that right the second Roque spared your life. It _is_ my decision and I decided to spare Roque's life. You're not killing him. So deal with it or shoot me now."

Clay stared down the woman who was unwilling to break from his gaze. Roque watched the stare down going on in front of him with a mixture of surprise, thankfulness and respect. Sky had balls. After what seemed like an eternity, Clay lowered his weapon and glared over her head towards Roque. "You're damn lucky. She just saved your ass. You step out of line and I'll kill you myself."

Roque could only nod.

The sound of incoming engines caught their attention and they all turned to see the plane speeding towards them from one direction and Wade on his motorcycle, turning around the corner and speeding towards him from the other. "Shit," Sky cursed, aiming her gun towards the plane, though she was sure it wouldn't do much against the larger vehicle.

"You're fine," Clay assured, gesturing towards a spot above Wade. She and Roque turned and saw Cougar on the shipping container perch she'd pointed out, his rifle aimed down towards the blonde on the bike. Once Wade was close enough that they could see the details of his face, Clay reached up to touch the comms. "Take him." A single shot rang out, hitting the bike causing it to burst into flames and soar into the air while Wade was thrown over their heads and into the plane's engine. The engine started to explode as the motorcycle crashed into the windshield of the airplane, sending the large vehicle up in flames and exploding. The air filled with fire and money. Clay covered his eyes, while Roque tried to cover Sky from the bright light and intense heat. He owed her his life, so he was going to make sure she was okay. The large metal pieces of the plane scrapped noisily against the concrete before it skidded to a stop in front of the three.

"Outstanding!" Clay laughed, waving towards Cougar, while Roque smirked and Sky cheered and jumped up and down, pumping her fist into the air. The sniper tipped his hat at the three of them, eyeing Roque warily, before he grabbed his rifle and started to climb down from his perch. The Colonel turned to the young brunette beside him and raised an eyebrow before gesturing to Roque. "Why are you defending him?"

"Because if there weren't more people in this world willing to forgive then Jake wouldn't have a father right now," she replied easily looking at him seriously.

Clay just grunted his response, tossing a cold look towards the knife fanatic before he grabbed his comms on his neck. "Losers, be advised we have Roque with us. No one is to shoot him."

_"__Excuse me, what?" _Aisha demanded in obvious displeasure. _"__Why the hell not?"_

_"__Roque sold us out Clay!" _Pooch shouted next.

Cougar's response was a string of curses and very unpleasant words in Spanish that Sky was the only one to understand. _"Calmate, Cougar. Te lo juro que lo explicare mas tarde." _

There was silence from the sniper for a few seconds. _"Okay."_

Aisha wasn't as easy to sway. _"I don't know what the hell he did but I'm not going to—"_

"The matter isn't up for debate," Clay interrupted.

Roque shot the man a grateful look. Clay narrowed his eyes in his direction slightly before nodding. Once the arguments stopped the three all started walking away from the ball of fire and metal behind them and closer towards the docks where a large ship was at the port. "So what now?" Roque asked, looking to the brunette next to him and Clay on her other side.

_"__Clay, we got a situation here,"_ Jensen's voice came through the comms, causing Clay and Sky to tense. _"__I'm looking at a giant vibrating Easter egg from hell and no Max."_

Clay and Sky both looked forward and saw a small brown-haired man wearing a grey suit, walking on the docks near the large ship, looking around in a paranoid fashion while talking on the phone and heading towards a large blue metal scaffolding. "That's him!" Roque hissed, pointing towards the man in the suit, looking to Clay and hitting his shoulder slightly. The act got him a fierce glare before Roque shot him a look and pointed again. "Clay, that's Max!" Almost immediately he whipped back around to stare at the man.

"We see him," Clay replied over the comms before he, Roque, and Sky took off towards the man, watching as he climbed up the stairs of the scaffolding and got into an elevator. They ran into a Kryon soldier who Roque quickly took out and disarmed—handing the weapon to Clay since he was sure he was still on thin ice—before they ran towards the scaffolding.

"Go up the stairs, I'll climb up, Roque, stay here and make sure you cut him off if he tries to escape," Sky shouted to Clay and Roque as she holstered her weapon and moved away from the stairs, instead going for the jagged pieces of metal and climbing up, muttering under her breath about stupidity and heights. Clay didn't put too much stock into it and instead sprinted up the stairs, trying to catch up with the man while Roque parked himself at the base of the stairs, looking around cautiously. Clay felt his legs burning and his lungs aching a bit, but he was so close to getting Max. He finally made it up to the last steps and ran across the large catwalk that hung above the water in the port. He spotted the man walking towards the edge of the catwalk with his cell phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" He said loudly, lifting his cell phone up in the air trying to get a signal.

"What's the matter, crappy reception?" Clay muttered, rushing up to the man with his gun aimed his way. A helicopter appeared just behind Max on the catwalk and Clay wasted no time at firing at it, scaring the pilot so he flew out of the area before aiming back at Max.

"That was my ride," Max said in an almost annoyed tone.

"Bummer."

"Clay is it?" Max asked.

"Colonel," the man retorted.

"So you know what this is then?" Max asked, holding up his hand to show a detonator in his hands.

"Remote pressure trigger."

"Very good. I release the button for ten seconds and everything goes boom," Max smirked. "So since you can't shoot me—" Clay shot the man in the left shoulder. "Ah!" Max shouted in pain, stumbling back slightly so he was closer to the edge before he stomped his foot. "God damn it!"

"You wanna try that again?" Clay taunted.

"That hurt," Max muttered, before looking seriously towards Clay. "You having fun. Enjoying yourself?"

"Give me the trigger and I let you live."

"You know what's the worst part about being the good guy?" Max asked, poking at his gunshot wound before tasting his own blood.

"What's that?"

"Having to make decisions like this," he said before tossing the detonator over his shoulder and near the edge. Clay lowered his weapon and was about to run to try and catch it before Sky heaved herself over the scaffolding she'd been climbing and jumped up, catching the detonator in her right hand and pressing down on the trigger before landing right on the edge of the scaffolding, pin-wheeling her arms to keep her balance.

Once she was steady on the edge she looked over her shoulder and paled at the height. "I'm such an idiot. Why would I decide to do this? We're _really_ high up."

"Huh…" Max muttered looking towards Sky with his head tilted to the side. "Well this is awkward. And who are you?"

"None of your business," she retorted.

"Noted, but I'll remember your face," he replied, pulling a gun out from the waistband of his pants and aiming at Sky before Clay could raise his weapon. He pulled the trigger and a gunshot rang out, hitting Sky's right shoulder, just underneath her collarbone. She cried out in pain and was thrown off balance, tipping over the edge. Clay cursed, letting go of his weapon and sprinting off the edge, diving after the brunette. She hit the water before he did. He dove into the water and quickly spotted the brunette drifting in the water, her eyes closed but her hand still around the trigger. He swam down and wrapped one arm around her waist while using his other hand to cover her hand over the trigger, pressing down to make sure she didn't let go.

After he had a good grip on her he angled them upwards and kicked his legs to bring them back to the surface. He immediately sucked in a deep breath and was relieved when he felt Sky wrap her other arm around his neck and cough up water. She was conscious. "F-Fucking hate heights," Sky muttered, still clinging onto the colonel.

"We're gonna have to swim to shore, alright," Clay said to her, tightening his grip around her waist. "I'm gonna need my other arm back so I can get us onto dry land. Can you keep pressure on the trigger and kick?"

"Yeah," she muttered, nodding her head.

Clay quickly let go of the detonator and was pleased when it didn't immediately turn red. He pulled back slightly and saw for the first time that her face was pale and she looked like she was in a lot of pain. He cursed internally before turning her slightly so her back was against his chest so he could start swimming to shore. Sky's kicks weren't as strong as they probably could've been, but she was trying and seeing that the wound on her shoulder was leaking a fair amount of blood he knew she was doing all she could. All he really needed her to focus on was holding onto the trigger.

"You doing okay, Sky?" Clay asked as he continued his swim, noticing that they weren't getting really far. They still had around a hundred yards before they were back on land and he couldn't have her passing out then.

Instead of her responding he heard splashing water just ahead of them and looked to see Roque swimming towards them, making it over to him and treading water as he took in the situation. "Shit, what happened?" He asked Clay.

"Max shot her," he explained quickly. "Did you get him?"

Roque shook his head, an annoyed look crossing his face. "Son of a bitch started shooting as soon as he ran down the stairs. I had to take cover and then I noticed you and Sky taking a nosedive," he explained before looking towards the brunette. "Let me take her."

"No, I've got—"

"Clay you aren't a strong swimmer," the knife fanatic reminded, taking the brunette woman from him despite his protests and glares.

"Clay…" Sky managed to say, gesturing towards the trigger in her hand. "Take it. I can't hold it anymore."

The colonel looked back and forth between the brunette, the trigger, and the demolitions expert. He didn't trust Roque at all. Not after what he did. But right then he didn't have a choice. He couldn't make it back in time to shore while holding onto Sky and she couldn't hold onto the trigger anymore. And if she let go, they were all dead. So reluctantly he took the trigger and started swimming towards the docks while Roque adjusted the brunette in his arms and started swimming with her, making much more progress than Clay had been making earlier.

"How you doing Sky?" Clay asked, looking back towards the girl being dragged through the water by Roque as they got closer and closer to the docks.

"I'm okay…"

He didn't really buy her assurance, but it wasn't like he could stop to check on her at that point. He just continued swimming as hard and fast as he could before he felt the ladder against his hand. Immediately he began climbing up and onto dry land. He looked back to see that Roque was just a few yards away, closing the gap. The colonel stumbled forward slightly, heavy from the water soaking his clothes when a canary yellow stretch Hummer drove into the area just in front of him.

It parked just in front of them and the driver's side door open and Jensen popped out, standing up so he could peer over the roof. "Hey!" He called out with an exuberant laugh while Pooch opened the passenger side door and Aisha and Cougar came out of the backdoor. "Look what Pooch found!"

"Look what we found," Clay responded, gesturing towards the trigger in his hand.

"This outta take care of it," Pooch said, tossing the roll of duct tape towards the colonel who caught it and used his teeth to rip off a strip of tape before taping down the trigger so he didn't have to hold onto it anymore.

"Disarmed," he muttered before tossing the duct tape back towards Pooch.

"Clay," Roque called out, immediately causing the others to turn their attention to the knife fanatic and the brunette girl in the water. There was a split second where the demolitions expert was sure that they would all pull out a gun and shoot him, but no one moved except for the colonel. He quickly moved over to the edge and reached down to grab the brunette girl he was passing up to her. "She's losing a lot of blood," Roque spoke up, as Clay heaved Sky out of the water.

The hardened look on Jensen's face he had adopted when he spotted Roque soon morphed into a frown watching his sister being lifted out of the water, her hand pressed against her shoulder and her face pale. It was at that moment that he saw the blood oozing out of her right shoulder. His eyes widened in fear and horror. "Oh my God, Sky, what happened?" He demanding, moving over to Clay to all but pry his sister out of Clay's hands, taking her in his arms and looking down at her in a panic.

"Got shot," she managed, tossing him the best reassuring smile she could.

"Max shot her when she caught the detonator," Clay explained as Roque climbed out of the water and stripped off his jacket to walk over to Jensen and Sky, moving forward to wrap it around the wound. Upon seeing the demolitions expert, Jensen reflexively flinched back and held his sister a bit tighter while Cougar grabbed for his revolver and aimed it at the man.

Roque stopped short before looking around at the others, holding his jacket up. "I'm tying it around her shoulder so she doesn't lose too much blood."

_"__No te muevas,"_ Cougar hissed. Aisha looked pleased with the fact that Cougar had his gun aimed at the demolition expert and seemed liked she was ready to pull out her own gun at any moment.

"No one shoots him," Sky ordered, her eyes landing on the sniper and catching his attention. "Let him tie the jacket Cougar," she muttered through clenched teeth, obviously still in pain. It took a few seconds of a stare down between the sniper and the mercenary before the Spaniard lowered his weapon, finally allowing Roque to move forward and tie to jacket around her right shoulder. Sky cried out in pain as he tightened the jacket.

"Cougs," Jensen said, looking to his friend as Roque stepped back to give them enough space.

Cougar moved forward without hesitation. Jensen passed her over to him carefully and the Spaniard held her tightly in his arms, carrying her into the backseat of the hummer. He laid her down gently onto the floor of the hummer and pulled off his button up to bunch underneath her head as a makeshift pillow. She was grimacing in pain and her face was very pale. She was taking in quick sharp breaths and staring straight up at the ceiling, trying to keep herself composed and she was still soaking wet. The sniper lifted the makeshift bandage Roque had tied on—immediately feeling bad at the yelp of pain that Sky let out—so he could see how bad the wound looked. It was bleeding a fair amount and it worried him that the area the bullet struck was somewhere around the subclavian artery. If the subclavian was nicked that would be very bad. She could end up bleeding out.

_"__Como te sientes?"_ Cougar asked, lowering the bandage back onto her shoulder and pressing down on it with one of his hands to make sure too much blood didn't start seeping out.

Sky turned her eyes towards him and gave him a small forced smile. "Like I'm walking… on sunshine."

"You just had to follow my lead and get shot, didn't you?" Jensen spoke up, climbing into the back and sitting on the ground beside his sister and grabbing her left hand. He tried to keep his voice light and carefree, but his eyes showed the worry he was feeling. "But don't you worry okay? Cougar's the best at putting people back together. He's just as good as Tool. He'll get you patched up in no time." Sky nodded and smiled slightly at him before taking in a shuddering breath.

The doors started slamming around them and Cougar looked up to see that Roque and Aisha had hopped into the back while Clay was in the front, starting up the hummer. The Bolivian woman had a gun trained on the demolitions expert whom she was sitting in front of, looking for like she wanted to shoot him. "Funny how things end up, huh?" She said with a narrowed gaze. "Now it's me with the gun pointed at your skull."

"You wouldn't be the first person to do that today," Roque retorted, flickering his gaze to the brunette on the floor.

"How bad is it?" Clay asked, looking back briefly before focusing on the road.

"We need to stop somewhere," Cougar said instead of giving a straight answer. Immediately the others knew that Sky wasn't too good.

"Clay, head back to the Triton!" Aisha called out loudly. "We can patch up Pooch and Sky there."

"Got it," Clay assured, stepping on the gas pedal and turning out of the port to start heading towards the docks.

"So does someone want to explain to me what the hell is going on here?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow, looking back towards the other and shooting a glare towards Roque. "Why isn't he dead?"

"I say we kill him," Aisha piped up with a smirk on her face. "We can kill him right now and dump his body into the ocean."

"Kill him… and I kill you."

The others all turned to look at the grimacing brunette still on the floor. Jensen sent a withering glare Roque's way before he looked down at his sister, his expression softening drastically. "Sky, why are you defending him? He betrayed us," he said gently. "He almost got us killed."

Sky looked up at him. "So you think… we should kill him?"

Jensen—the normally kind-hearted and forgiving blonde—nodded. "Yeah, we should kill him."

"If B-Barney had your mentality… your father would be dead right now."

Jensen froze, all his muscles tensing up as his sister's words struck a chord with him. His mind immediately went back to a few years ago when he got the call from his sister telling him that his dad was shot. He remembered the story they'd explained to him. Gunnar had gone crazy, nearly killing Yin on a mission after he tried to hang a pirate. And when Barney let him go, he turned on the Expendables and hooked up with a rogue CIA agent on the island of Vilena. He sold them out and even led a group of men to kill Barney. At the time, his dad didn't know that Yin and Sky were in the car with the Italian, and he almost ended up killing all of them. Sky had walked away with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder and Yin had almost been impaled by the tall blonde, but Barney stepped in and stopped him. Barney had been the one to shoot his father. He shot three inches above his dad's heart, sparing his life even though he had tried to kill them. He had mercy even though Gunnar betrayed his family.

And here was Jensen in the same sort of situation and he was voting to kill Roque outright.

The blonde snapped his head up and looked over towards Roque, spotting the knife fanatic looking back at him with guilt and regret clearly in his eyes. It was then that he understood exactly why Roque was alive. He understood why Sky hadn't killed him and why she was actively trying to keep him alive. He reminded her of Gunnar. And he couldn't help but agree. So he looked at the demolitions expert and gave him a small smile and a nod before his grinned widened. "Well, since it looks like you're stuck with us, just one word; therapy."

Roque's eyes widened. "You agree with her?"

"You _agree_ with her?" Aisha echoed in disbelief.

Jensen shrugged as if it were no big deal. "She's got a point. I mean, my dad went kinda wackoo at one point too and let me tell you it was _not_ pretty. Well… from what I _heard_ it wasn't pretty. But he was _totally_ trying to kill Barney, and Roque really wasn't _trying_ to kill us. Like he didn't hold a gun to our head and—"

A wet cough and a whimper of pain cut into his rambling. Almost immediately, Cougar's eyes snapped back down to Sky, spotting her looking up at him, her face screwed up in pain as she tried to stop her coughing. He reached down to cup her cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb along it gently, trying to comfort her slightly. "I-I need my p-phone," she managed to say after her coughing subsided.

"You want to call the others now?" Jensen asked with a small frown, trying to understand what his sister wanted with her phone. "Do you want me to call your dad?"

Despite the fact that she was shot and in obvious pain, Sky still managed to send her brother a look that meant 'are you insane?' "N-No… I need my… phone."

"Your phone is on the boat with the rest of our stuff," Aisha commented lightly, looking down to the young mercenary, still not releasing her grip on her weapon.

_"__Descansa,"_ Cougar spoke up softly, still stroking her cheek lightly. _"__Todo va a estar bien."_

_"__Gracias,"_ she muttered before her eyes rolled back and her eyes closed as she passed out. Panic immediately filled the sniper and—based on the frantic shouts to Clay to drive faster made by the hacker—Jensen was starting to lose his cool as well. The sniper pressed harder on Sky's wound and used his other hand to feel for her pulse. He internally cursed when he felt that it was weak.

"Clay, hurry up!" Jensen barked while he held his sister's hand tightly, tapping at her cheek, hoping that she would get up.

The screeching of tires and the jerk that nearly sent all the others flying, alerted the Losers to the fact that they made it back to the Titan. "Cougar, Jensen, and Roque get Sky up to the wheelhouse, Aisha and I will get Pooch," Clay barked the second he parked the car. Cougar and Jensen wasted no time in carrying her out of the open door—courtesy or Roque—and up into the boat while Clay and Aisha helped Pooch hopple onto the deck. Roque had run up the stairs ahead of the two men in order to clear out all the papers on the desk so they could lay the unconscious woman down. "Jensen," Cougar spoke up, motioning to the bag of medical supplies. Immediately the hacker moved to get the bag while Cougar checked Sky's pulse again.

"What do you need Cougs?" Roque asked, looking around for a way to make himself useful.

"Alcohol," he said just as Jensen ran over with the medical supplies. He quickly grabbed the pair of scissors from the bag and cut off the uniform top the brunette was wearing so he could see the wound clearly, but left the sports bra she was wearing intact. He was surprised however to see relatively fresh bruises scattered across her ribs.

"What happened to her?" Jensen demanded, glaring at Roque as if it were his fault. Roque just shrugged in confusion as he searched the bags for a bottle of alcohol, assuring the hacker that he hadn't actually fought Sky in hand to hand.

Cougar ignored the conversation going on around him and instead studied the bullet wound. It wasn't too large, but it was deep. Thankfully there was an exit would which meant he didn't have to worry about fishing out a bullet. That would've been incredibly difficult and excruciatingly painful for Sky. Instead he needed to figure out where the bleeding was coming from, stop it, and then sew her back up before she lost any more blood. He tried not to look at her face as he grabbed the bottle of alcohol Roque handed him and unscrewed the top. It was always difficult having to patch up people you know and care about, but for some reason he was especially on edge with the brunette on the table.

Sucking in a deep breath and muttering an apology in Spanish he poured the alcohol over the bullet hole and into the open wound. Sky's eyes snapped open and a pained scream ripped out of her throat as she started thrashing around. Immediately Roque reached for her legs while Jensen grabbed her left arm and held her down even as she screamed. Cougar felt sick to his stomach hearing her scream out like that but he knew it had to be done or she would die. He grabbed the threaded needle Jensen had prepared and held it in his hands.

Cougar was vaguely aware of Clay and Aisha entering the room, with the former shouting at the latter to find something to put in Sky's mouth so she could bite down and to muffle her screams slightly. He was vaguely aware of Roque cursing as he tried to keep her legs pinned down on the table. And he was vaguely aware of Jensen whispering to Sky, trying to calm her down. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he looked towards the brunette woman on the table. There were tears down her face as Aisha tied a bandana in her mouth and in between her teeth so she wasn't grinding them together. Jensen was crouched right beside her, his hand firmly in hers as he whispered into her ear and pushed her hair back, telling her how great she was doing. Her eyes met his and he saw the pain and fear behind them and it made it infinitely harder for the sniper. He gripped the needle in between his fingers tightly before looking apologetically to Sky. _"Perdoname."_

* * *

The water turned red as it ran over Cougar's hands and down the side of the boat. He scrubbed at the blood on his hands, trying to remove every dried on speck as he replayed what just happened in his head over and over again. When he started stitching up Sky she had tried thrashing again before she had passed out. Jensen had started freaking out and begging Cougar to do something while Aisha had to assure him she still had a pulse but was just passing out from the pain. Cougar had his own difficulties keeping his panic to a minimal. Thankfully the bullet hadn't nicked the subclavian artery and instead had only been spewing out so much blood because of her adrenaline increasing her heart rate. He had cleaned the wound and stitched up the entry wound before he had Roque and Jensen roll her over so he could stitch up the exit wound. Once the stitching was done Clay had ordered the sniper to switch his attention to Pooch while Aisha and Jensen finished putting on gauze, bandages, and securing her arm.

Cougar had wanted to argue, but he knew that Pooch had also been shot—twice no less—so he did what he was told. He and Roque had hauled him up into the wheelhouse and the sniper went through the same routine he'd gone through with Sky, pouring alcohol over the wounds before examining them to see what needed to be done. The bullets had gone through Pooch's legs completely, thankfully missing all major arteries but going through a bit of muscle. It wasn't anything catastrophic but it was enough that Jensen would be calling him Legless Pooch for a few more days. He had stitched up the heavy weapons expert—who had also ended up needing a gag to bite down on and passing out through the process—before Roque helped bandage him up.

By the time he was done with Pooch, Aisha and Jensen had finished with Sky, arranging a makeshift sling for her arm and removing the gag from her mouth. And with Sky out of commission for the moment, Clay had ordered Aisha to handcuff Roque. When it appeared that the Bolivian was just going to shoot the demolitions expert instead, Jensen had stepped in and reminded them that both he and Sky weren't going to let anyone kill Roque. The knife fanatic had been grateful while the others were just annoyed.

"Cougs."

Cougar stopped his scrubbing and looked up to see Jensen standing next to him. The hacker handed him a towel before sitting beside him on the deck with his back against the railing so he was looking towards the sniper. "I wanted to say thanks. You know for helping Sky back there. I… she's really important to me and I don't know what I would've done if she had… anyway, thanks buddy." If Cougar was feeling bad before he was feeling ten times worse now. Throughout the midst of the whole situation he'd forgotten one very important fact. Sky was Jensen's girlfriend. He swallowed thickly before nodding once, not trusting his voice. Jensen grinned before gesturing vaguely towards the docks where Aisha and Clay had gone to start loading their bags into the hummer so they could get the hell out of dodge. "Pooch woke up a few minutes ago and is all but demanding we go to Springfield so he can get to Jolene before the baby is born. We're moving out in a bit. We gotta help move the weapons."

Cougar once again only nodded and stood up, drying his hands on the towel before following behind Jensen who was chattering on at a mile a minute, talking about 'baby Pooch' and pondering what sort of names he or she might have. He was pretty sure that the hacker threw out the name 'Skougar' somewhere in the mix, but he chalked that up to being tired and hearing things. He tried to focus on the blonde's voice so his thoughts wouldn't turn to the brunette who was still unconscious just up in the wheelhouse.

* * *

Pain was the first thing she was aware of when she started coming to. Her body was sore and tired, but her right shoulder trumped all of that. It was in massive amounts of pain that made Sky immediately wish for the blissful ignorance of unconsciousness, but the pain wouldn't allow her to close her eyes and sleep again. She groaned slightly and opened her eyes to see that she was staring up at a ceiling and resting on something really uncomfortable. She was in dry clothes with a blanket thrown on top of her and her hair was in braids on either side of her head, like she did when she was on mission. Her right shoulder was immobile and it took her a few seconds to realize the irony that Max had managed to shoot her in her bad arm. She was sure it was karma for not calling back her dad or the others.

"Welcome back."

Sky blinked at the voice before turning her neck to the left slightly to see Pooch on the floor just a few feet away from her, his legs bandaged up and stretched out in front of him, using a duffel bag under each arm as an arm rest. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hands and took a generous swig of it before he smiled in her direction, extending it to her with a smile on his face. "Want some? You earned it."

Without hesitation she stuck her left arm out underneath the blanket to grab it by the neck and tilted her head up to take a large gulp, the liquid burning a path down her throat. She scrunched her nose up slightly before taking another gulp and setting the bottle on the ground and lowering her head down. She looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking at Pooch again. "Why are we on the floor?"

"Cougar was afraid you'd roll off the desk. I just can't stand up," he explained with a small shrug, gesturing towards his bandaged legs. "How you feeling?"

"Ask me again after I finish this bottle."

Pooch chuckled and nodded his head. "I hear ya."

"So… why am I covered in a blanket?"

"Cougar and Jensen thought you'd get sick from staying in wet clothes. Aisha swapped out your pants for your sweats, but she couldn't get a shirt over your head so she tossed a blanket on you. Jensen was just up here putting your hair in braids."

"He would," she smiled slightly. "Where are the others?" She asked before tilting her head up to take another few gulps, hoping that by drinking some she'd be able to dull the pain in her arm.

"Clay and Aisha are packing up the hummer while Roque is handcuffed somewhere below deck." Immediately Sky narrowed her eyes, prompting the man to continue. "Clay said that until you or Jensen explain why the hell we should trust him, he's going to be treated as a captured enemy combatant. And I got to admit I agree."

"I'll explain when we're all safely on our way home," she replied with a sigh.

"That's fair. Anyway, we're moving out soon. I wanna see if we can get to Springfield before the baby is born."

Sky lowered her head to the ground before she remembered that she needed her phone. Immediately she turned back to Pooch and was happy to see that one of the duffel bags he was using as arm rests was hers. "I think I can make that happen. Reach into the bag under your right arm. There's gonna be an inside pocket and there's gonna be two phones inside. Give me the black one."

The heavy weapons expert looked confused for a second before he followed her directions, pulling out both her purple phone and the black phone Church had given her. He tossed the second one her way while looking at the screen of the first. "You have a lot of missed calls."

"Yeah, I know," she muttered, resigning herself to the fact that she was going to be in hot water for the foreseeable future with the Expendables. She unlocked the black phone and dialed Church's number before pressing it to her ear. It only rang twice before she heard the CIA agent's voice.

_"__So, are you finally done trekking in Bolivia?"_

Sky pursed her lips slightly, having forgotten that he had been expecting her to call when she needed to get out of Bolivia and back stateside. Whoops. Oh well, she might as well just tell him what happened. "I'm at the Port of Los Angeles."

_"…__why the fuck are you in the Port of Los Angeles?"_

"Listen, I really don't have time to explain," she muttered, starting to feel her exhaustion setting in. "I need you to send a team to the Port in the shipping yard. You're going to find four weapons called 'snooks' that can wipe out cities in seconds inside a shipping container. One of them is going to be armed."

_"__What the hell kind of shit did you get yourself into, kid?"_

"Doesn't matter. Just send your team to get rid of them. Then I need you to come alone in a chopper and meet me and a few new friends three miles north of the Coast Guard Air Station to pick us up."

_"__I'm starting to question if you think I'm a fucking choo-choo train or not. But fine, you got it. Just because I want to know what the hell is going on around here. I'll be there within the next two hours."_

"Thanks Church."

_"__Yeah, yeah. I expect an explanation when I get there."_

"You got it."

With that the mercenary hung up and let her hand drop, staring up at the ceiling. When she felt eyes on the side of her head she turned and saw Pooch looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Who'd you just call in?"

"A favor."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Hey guys! I'm _so_ sorry that I haven't updated in a couple days. I had at least a month's worth of developmental psych homework piled up that is all due by this Friday at eight, so I've been cramming and trying to get all of this stuff taken care of! Such is the college life I guess. After this week I'll be able to focus more on this story again and after maybe a week or two of getting pre-written chapters taken care of we should be back to a regular schedule of updates. I'm not sure if it'll be an update each day like before (since when I did that I had at least like seven chapters pre-written in advance and I'd manage to write at least half of a new one each day) until I get caught up with my pre-written chapters. We're also coming to the end of the Losers movie arc of the story which means the rest of this story (and subsequent additions to this series) is going to be completely original. That means a bit more time for planning and updates. I'll try to get to a chapter every three days or once a week until I get more pre-written chapters done! Thanks for being so patient!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Los Angeles, California_

_October 6th, 2013_

Roque just stared out at the white wall in front of him, his arm already numb from where it was over his head, handcuffed to the railing underneath the window. The second that Sky and Pooch were patched up he'd been taken down to the lower deck of the boat by Clay and Aisha. Though that was only after Jensen talked Aisha out of killing him. He was grateful for the blonde hacker that normally got on his nerves, and he was grateful for the brunette that had offered him a way out. Had anyone else been in her position he'd be dead already. But now he was starting to think he was better off dead. Aside from Jensen and Sky, all the others wanted him dead. There was no way they'd forgive him as quickly as the couple had.

Pooch had been shot _twice_ because of him selling them out. The man was going to be a _father_ and he almost got him killed. He almost got them all killed. He still couldn't care less about Aisha, but the others—Clay, Pooch, Cougar, and Jensen—were a different story. He'd known them for years. He fought with them and he fought for them. They were his family. They were his brothers. And because he couldn't trust Aisha—because he couldn't move past Clay putting them all at risk like Sky suggested—he had stabbed them in the back. He felt sick every time he thought about it. There was no way they'd forgive him. He didn't even forgive himself.

Heavy footsteps coming down the stairs caught his attention. He looked away from the wall he'd been staring at for the better part of half an hour and saw Clay walking into the area, zeroing in on him and tossing him a look that the demolitions expert knew all too well. It was the look Clay gave people that he considered beneath him; scum. There had been a point in time where they'd be sitting in a bar or on mission and they'd share that same look in a silent agreement that whoever it was they were looking at wasn't worth the air they breathed. But now, Clay was leveling that look his way.

"I want to kill you," Clay spoke up without beating around the bush, glaring at the man handcuffed to the window. "You stabbed us in the back Roque."

"Clay—"

"What are you gonna say? Nothing you can say can ever make this better. The _only_ reason you're alive right now is because Sky and Jensen are protecting you," the colonel hissed. "Since I can't kill you, I'll let you know this. You're dead to me. From now on you don't talk to me, you don't touch me, you don't look at me, and you don't even _breathe_ near me. Understood?" Roque felt sick again, but he nodded. Clay tossed the handcuff keys towards him and turned for the stairs. "Sky arranged for a transport. We leave for the Coast Guard Air Station in five minutes. Be sure you're in the car by then."

With that Clay walked back up the stairs, leaving the demolitions expert alone. For a solid minute he contemplated just staying in the lower deck of the boat so the others left without him, but he promised himself he wouldn't abandon his family again. So he undid the handcuffs on his wrist and pushed himself to his feet. He made it up the stairs quickly and saw that Aisha was carrying the last of the bags off the deck while Clay and Cougar were helping Pooch down the stairs of the wheelhouse, essentially carrying the man between them both. "You need help?" He offered, walking over to the two. Cougar shot him look that made it obvious he wasn't going to trust him anytime soon while Clay just ignored him. The look Pooch sent him, however, made him feel so much worse. It was a look of utter disappointment.

None of them responded to him and instead just shuffled along trying to get Pooch off the boat without hurting him too badly. "I could use some help!" Jensen called out as he walked down the stairs with a backpack practically falling off his shoulder while he carried his sister in his arms, making sure he didn't inadvertently hurt her any more than she already was. He stopped on the last stair and smiled at the demolitions expert. "You mind taking my backpack? My laptop and tablet are in here and I can't really grab it to fix it from falling since my hands are full. And I would cry if I dropped my babies and something happened so—"

"Sure thing kid," Roque interrupted his rambling, letting a small smile form on his lips as he walked over and took the backpack off of his shoulder to sling it over his own. He cleared his throat and nodded to the hacker, silently thanking him for trying to make him feel useful and at least somewhat part of the team.

Jensen smiled widely, understanding what Roque was trying to communicate without words. He nodded back before walking with the demolitions expert off the boat and towards the hummer. The Losers all piled in with Aisha up front with Clay driving and Pooch, Cougar, Jensen, Sky, and Roque all in the back. Pooch got the entire back seat all to himself so he could stretch out his legs while Cougar and Jensen sat on one side of the vehicle and Roque and Sky sat on the other. Cougar was glaring directly at Roque, Jensen was pouting because of the deadly aura emanating from the Spaniard, Roque was feeling horrible with the whole situation, and Sky felt entirely awkward. No one was particularly happy about the seating.

"Why the Coast Guard Air Station?" Aisha called out after the first ten minutes into the ride, breaking the tension in the back.

"I got a guy who'll meet us there," Sky retorted, shifting slightly in her seat.

"Can we trust him?" Clay asked.

Sky shared a quick look with Jensen who was beaming her way. She was pretty sure that he wasn't going to be happy to find out it was _Church_ she called in. But she still hadn't received word from the other Expendables saying they landed back stateside—and she was positive that would be the first thing they'd do if they were in the US. She didn't have any other options. "Yeah… we can trust him."

* * *

Jensen liked to think he knew his sister. After spending eighteen years of his life with her, he thought that he understood how she worked and how she processed things. But sitting three miles north of the Coast Guard Air Station, watching as the helicopter started lowering down just a few yards in front of them made him second guess himself. When he had gone back up to the wheelhouse with Cougar to get the rest of the bags and saw that Sky was awake he'd been thrilled. And when she said she called in someone to come and pick them up to make the trip to Springfield quicker, he automatically assumed she called in the other Expendables. So he didn't question her and instead buzzed in excitement to see their family. But Barney didn't fly helicopters. He flew planes.

"Who's that?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow, looking towards his sister—who was on the ground next to Pooch, both of them propped up against the parked hummer while Clay and Aisha sat on the hood, Cougar stood next to the hacker and Roque stood far off to the side near the trunk. The blonde immediately noticed that she looked away from him and towards the helicopter, ignoring his question. "Sky, who'd you call?"

Before she could answer the helicopter landed and the chopper blades slowed to a stop before the door of the chopper opened and a bald man dressed in a black sweater and a pair of jeans and black boots. The second he laid eyes on the man, he knew exactly who it was. He'd seen the pictures of the CIA agent that had wanted to use the Expendables as scapegoat's years ago. His father had shown it to him and warned him to steer clear of the man if he ever came across him on a mission with the Losers. He walked closer to them, scanning over the others in the group before narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You called Church?!" Jensen hissed to his sister, whirling back around to look at her with wide eyes, frantically pointing back towards the man. "We have problems with our CIA handler turning on us and you go and call a CIA agent?!"

Almost immediately, Cougar, Aisha, and Clay all pulled out weapons and aimed them at Church while the CIA agent did the same, although he looked far more cool and composed. In fact he almost looked bored.

"CIA?" Roque demanded before turning to look at the brunette woman. "You called in the CIA?"

"You don't get an opinion in this matter," Sky retorted easily, tossing him a look. "You know what they say about throwing stones in glass houses."

Roque promptly shut his mouth, knowing she had a point.

"Gun down or we shoot," Clay ordered, looking toward Church.

Aisha tightened her grip on her gun, looking ready to snap at any second. "He's probably working with Max. I say we just kill him now."

Church looked at the others with an amused smirk on his face before he looked to Sky. "Your friends don't like me much."

"As if our first meeting was pleasant," Sky muttered, ignoring the reactions from the others and from her brother. She pushed herself up to her feet using her left hand, muttering a few curses as pain shot through her shoulder. She swayed slightly on her feet before she sucked in a deep breath and moved forward towards Church, extending her left hand for a hand shake. "If you remember I put a gun to your forehead."

"Yeah, and it's been sunshine and rainbows ever since," Church muttered sarcastically, shaking her hand before gesturing to her bandaged shoulder. "You look like shit."

"I'd say you looked like shit too, but that's just how you always look."

"Cute."

"Who the hell are you?" Clay demanded, looking towards the CIA agent with a glare on his face. Aisha looked like she was ready to shoot the man and just steal the chopper while Cougar was tensed, prepared to shoot if he had to, but obviously apprehensive with Sky in the line of fire. Church didn't look impressed. "Tell me who you are or I'll kill you."

"I'm here to offer you Rugrats a ride and you threaten to kill me," he muttered before looking back down towards Sky. "They're definitely your friends."

"Skylar Christmas!" Jensen hissed, moving up to his sister, staring down Church suspiciously before looking back to her. "What the hell were you thinking? Why the hell would you call in Church? He wanted to kill our dads! Do you remember that? He wanted to kill our family! Why would you call him?"

Sky looked up at her brother tiredly. She completely understood why he was hounding her. If she were in his position she'd be doing the same thing. But she was she was still exhausted from the swimming, running and fighting she'd done, she was hungry, and she was still in pain from being shot. She wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with Jake. "I saved his ass in Albania. He owed me a favor. He's the one who brought me to Bolivia in the first place."

"And now I see that you found what you were looking for," Church muttered, gesturing vaguely towards the Losers. He noticed that they all looked even more on edge by his comment before he looked back to the brunette in front of him. "I expect an explanation the second we're in the air."

"You'll get one."

"Good," he retorted before clapping his hands and gesturing towards the chopper. "Everyone onboard."

None of the Losers moved.

Church scowled. "It wasn't a fucking question. I don't have time to sit here while you all decide whether you want to trust me."

Still no one moved.

Sky sighed in exasperation before looking back towards her brother. "Jake, grab my bag please and hurry up," she spoke up, moving past Church towards the chopper.

"You don't even _like_ helicopters!" Jensen pointed out a tad childishly, trying to find any reason possible not to get onto the CIA chopper with Church.

"I don't like getting shot either!" She retorted without even turning around to look his way. "And every second we waste is a second Jolene gets closer to giving birth to the baby!" With that she climbed into the chopper and disappeared from sight. After a second Jensen sighed in exasperation, whining slightly as he grabbed his bag and his sister's bag and moved towards the chopper, tossing Church a glare as he passed him. Roque was the next one to follow him, grabbing Jensen's bag and another duffel he found before following the only two people who didn't want to kill him with every passing second.

"Uh… I know we don't like CIA, but she has a point," Pooch spoke up, looking up towards Cougar and Clay. "I want to be there when the baby is born."

Clay shared a quick look with Cougar before the sniper exhaled through his nose and holstered his weapon, moving over to grab one of Pooch's arms. The colonel moved to the heavy weapons specialist after an internal debate and heaved him up to his feet while Aisha grumbled underneath her breath and grabbed as many of the remaining bags as she could to follow the three men onto the chopper. Once they had Pooch seated, Clay and Cougar climbed back out to get the rest of the bags before climbing back in and shutting the door. On the right side of the helicopter Roque was near the cockpit where two pilots were preparing to take off, with Jensen on his left and Sky seated beside her brother. On the other side, Church was seated opposite Roque with Clay taking the seat beside the CIA agent, ready to strike if he needed to, and Aisha on his other side, her gun still out and in her lap. Pooch was next to the Bolivian, taking up two seats so he could stretch out his legs, while Cougar had taken the seat right next to Sky. The brunette girl was strapped down as much as she could manage with her arm in the sling and it was obvious to everyone that she was getting nervous.

The second they had taken off into the air, she tensed and used her left hand to grab for Cougar's hand, squeezing her eyes shut. The sniper laced his fingers in hers without hesitation and gave her what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. When they leveled out in the air, she exhaled shakily and tried to take deep breaths. "Alright kid," Church spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked her way. "Start explaining."

"Another one of your boys went rogue," she started, still not pulling her hand from Cougar's as she looked to the CIA agent. "It was some guy named Max."

"Max?" Church asked with a raised eyebrow. "Who the fuck is Max?"

"He was our CIA handler," Jensen took over for his sister, gesturing to himself, Clay, Cougar, Roque and Pooch. He might not have agreed with Sky calling in Church, but as long as he was giving them a ride home he could help her explain their situation. "There was some agreement with the Army and the CIA to have some of the black ops units pimped out to the spooks for missions. We just happened to be one of them. We had a mission in Bolivia that went really bad really fast because he wanted to blow up a compound with children inside. We swooped in to rescue them, but we gave them our chopper. So when Max tried to shoot us down, he ended up killing the kids instead."

"And you Rugrats decided to fake your own deaths," Church guessed, looking around the group to see that he was right. He pursed his lips and nodded before turning to look at Sky. "So that's why you wanted to go to Bolivia?"

"Pooch's wife—" Sky gestured towards the man, "—and I realized that they were alive four months after the chopper explosion. That same day I called you to get me to Bolivia. When I found these guys, they were already in the middle of plotting a way to get Max and get back home, so I decided to help out. Long story short, Max was collecting next generation weapons to sell and after a very crappy situation he got away and we're still alive."

"Barely," he put in, gesturing to the heavy weapons specialist and her arm. He sighed slightly and shook his head before speaking again. "Look, I don't know shit about the black ops handlers. It wasn't my division. But I'll look into it and see what I can dig up on this Max guy."

"If you don't work in the same division, why do you think you can find anything on him?" Aisha challenged.

Church looked her way in annoyance. "Because, _I'm_ the one they call when agents get… overeager."

"So who exactly are you?" Clay asked, looking to the man with suspicion written clearly across his face. "Why are you helping us?"

"I'm not helping you," he replied with a shrug, gesturing to Sky. "I'm helping her. Like the kid said, I owed her a favor."

"For what?" Cougar spoke up for the first time since leaving the Triton, looking down at Sky before looking over towards Church with a raised eyebrow.

"Kid saved my life back in Albania."

"How?" Roque asked, looking to the CIA agent. "What did she do?"

"After taking out a group of armed men she killed a man who was about to kill me," Church replied easily. He noticed the looks of surprise from Roque, Clay, Pooch, and Cougar while Jensen and Aisha didn't seemed caught off-guard at all. Something clicked into place in his head. "You four don't have any idea who she is, do you?"

"She's gotta be military," Pooch piped up with a shrug.

Church laughed before smirking towards the brunette. "You didn't tell them?"

"I had other things on my mind at the time," she replied with a small smile.

The agent shook his head before looking towards the others while pointing at her. "Well, let me let you Rugrats in on a little secret. That woman right there is a member of one of the best mercenary teams around." Almost immediately their eyes whipped back around to stare at the woman. Cougar's hand in hers tensed the slightest bit and he looked to see her smiling slightly towards Church, acting as if the others weren't looking at her in surprise.

"Was that a compliment Mr. Church?"

"Don't get used to it."

Sky smirked back at him before she felt Cougar squeeze her hand lightly. She looked up to the sniper and saw that he was looking at her with curiosity and confusion written across his face. He didn't need to say anything to communicate the fact that he wanted to hear an explanation. She squeezed his hand back slightly before turning to face the others again. "I'm a member of the Expendables which—in my biased opinion—is the most dominant mercenary group of all time. It's was a team formerly comprised of eight, but now we run a man short at seven—"

"Does Yin count as half a man?" Jensen asked with an amused smile on his face.

"I'm telling him you said that," she retorted without missing a beat.

Jensen immediately started whining.

Sky ignored his pleas not to tell Yin and instead kept explaining. "Officially I've been a member of the Expendables since I turned twenty, but I've been with them since I was five."

"Since you were five?" Roque asked in surprise.

"My father is an Expendable."

"Well, that certainly explains your skills," Clay piped up, sizing her up.

"And why you carried around weapons," Roque muttered, remembering back to when she had pulled out her bowie knife and gun on him.

"I knew I wasn't crazy," Pooch muttered, looking her over. "I knew you were some sort of military."

_"__Su padre,"_ Cougar spoke up, catch the attention of the brunette. He, however, was looking over her head and towards Jensen. "He was a mercenary."

The others all looked surprised by Cougar's comment before turning towards the grinning hacker. "Yup! My dad and Yin are both members of the Expendables. As a matter of fact, my dad was the third person to join up! It's how I met Sky."

"And you didn't think to tell us that your dad was a mercenary?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… not really."

"This is really a riveting conversation," Church cut in with an annoyed expression on his face, bringing the attention back towards him. "But I gotta know where the hell we're going."

"Springfield, Connecticut," Pooch piped up immediately, starting to look a mix of excited and nervous as he shifted on his seat. "My wife is gonna have a baby."

"Congratulations," Church said before quickly barking at his pilots, telling them to head towards Springfield and to get there as soon as possible. Once they were heading in the right direction he'd asked about the injuries they'd all sustained, before checking over Pooch and Sky's bullet wounds. Cougar had kept a critical eye as Church looked at Pooch's legs before he was forced to keep himself from moving as he checked Sky's shoulder. The sniper had received a compliment for his patch up job of the two before the cabin lulled into a silence.

Clay and Aisha were both awake, watching Church and Roque with suspicion, while Pooch was starting to bounce up and down in excitement. He was practically beaming as he realized he was going to see Jolene again _and_ the newest addition to his family. Roque had fallen asleep, seeing as he couldn't clean his weapons to occupy the time. There was no way he'd be getting his knives or guns any time soon. Jensen and Sky were also both asleep. The blonde was leaning partially against Roque seeing as the first time he tried to lean on Sky's injured shoulder she had shouted in pain, kicked his leg, and threatened him if he tried it again. He was twitching slightly in his sleep and snoring loudly which Cougar had managed to tone out.

Sky was sleeping soundly, leaning against his shoulder with her fingers still interlocked with his. The sniper looked down at the woman leaning against him and studied her face. She still had the faintest hints of dark circles under her eyes, but she looked peaceful. She looked delicate and fragile. And yet she was actually a mercenary. It made sense to him. Her amusement at Clay assuming she was a civilian made sense. Her comments about someone always watching their sniper's back made sense. Her use of knives and guns made sense. And the impressive display of hand-to-hand skill that he'd witnessed from the woman when he fought her, at Goliath, and just hours earlier watching her take on the Kryon made sense. Still it was hard not to feel protective of her. And it was even harder for him to remember that she wasn't his to protect.

A laugh caught his attention and he looked up to see Church—the man Sky had apparently saved—laughing as he looked their way. The sniper felt his face heat up the slightest bit, realizing that the CIA agent had caught him staring at the mercenary sleeping on his shoulder. Church just continued to laugh as he leaned back against the seat. He smirked. "Good luck kid. Her dad will stab you in your sleep."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Hey guys! I want to thank you guys for being so patient! I also want to let you guys know that starting next chapter, the next seven to ten chapters are going to be mainly focused on the interactions of the Losers and the Expendables. I always wanted to see how these two teams would interact in different situations (and if you guys have any situations you'd find interesting, feel free to let me know!) and I wanted to show their relationships while I'm getting the original chapters written. I received an interesting idea from **chibi-no-baka** suggesting I write a crossover between these two teams and _The A-Team_. And I think it's actually a pretty good idea that I could toy around with. So, there is a possibility of a side-story with the crossover in the works while I work on my original story! I'll keep you all updated and let you know when anything new comes up or when a new story/chapter will be updated! Thanks so much for being awesome readers and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_Springfield, Connecticut_

_October 6th, 2013_

It was pitch black and thundering by the time they arrived in Springfield. Jensen was now wide awake, wincing every time the helicopter shook with the force of the thunder and Sky was still clutching onto the sniper tightly while he tried to keep her calm, whispering to her in Spanish and helping her into one of his jackets so she would have some protection in the rain instead of just having her sports bra on. "Did you find the room number yet?" Pooch asked impatiently as he zipped up the rain jacket he'd gotten from Church. Since they were all still technically dead, he couldn't just walk through the front door of the hospital. So Clay had immediately put Jensen onto the task of locating Jolene's room number and while he started rifling through the bags to find the repelling rope and harness that Jensen had used earlier on in the day.

"Fifth floor room—" Another clap of thunder sounded and he tensed before exhaling and looking towards the other. "Room 517."

"You still don't like thunder storms?" Sky asked with a weak smile on her face before the chopper bounced a bit and she grabbed onto Cougar tighter.

"You still hate heights so shut up," Jensen retorted, sticking his tongue out at her childishly. She glared in his direction.

"Do you Rugrats need me to stick around?" Church asked with a raised eyebrow, moving all the duffel bags to the doorway so the Losers could just grab it when they got out of the chopper.

"No, we've got it from here," Clay assured.

"Good, cause I had other shit to do," he retorted before looking towards the young mercenary. "There's gonna be a van waiting for you around the back of the hospital with keys in the glove compartment. The doors will be unlocked so you can just head out when you're done. I'll look into Max and see to taking care of those snooks."

"Thanks Church," she smiled slightly at him.

"I'll call if I have anything on him, but right now, this is your stop," he said just as they started to descend. Clay and Aisha stared unhooking themselves from their seats to move towards the door, while Roque unbuckled himself and just continued to sit adjusting the hat he had on his head. Jensen reached for his own hat and jacket and pulled them on while Sky mumbled and cursed, pulling her ski hat on her head. The second they touched down, Clay and Aisha opened the door and began to grab their bags to jump out, heading towards the area the van was. Roque and Jensen followed them out while Pooch, Cougar, and Sky were the last ones to trickle out. The female said a quick goodbye to the CIA agent before they climbed out and grabbed the last of the bags to start running—or in Pooch's case hobbling—towards the vehicle and through the pouring rain.

Just as they got all the bags stowed into the van the helicopter took off and flew away, leaving the Losers alone. "He's not too bad," Jensen muttered, looking towards Sky. "Still don't like him, but he's not too bad."

"Alright Losers, let's get into position," Clay ordered as he helped Pooch climb into the harness. "Jensen you're with Aisha, Cougar, and Sky. You guys watch the area and make sure everything is clear. Pooch is with me."

Roque couldn't help but notice that Clay didn't include him in the planning at all, but he wasn't surprised. Thankfully, Jensen had grabbed his arm with a 'c'mon buddy' and included him with Aisha so that he wasn't just left standing near the car in the rain. They got their spots, crouching in a nearby tall grass while Cougar stood up with Sky behind an AC unit just a few feet away from the others so they were given cover and so they could see the window Pooch would be entering through. Clay and Pooch made it to the side of the building before they heard Jensen over the comms.

_"__Papa, papa, we are clear."_

_"__Set in perimeter, you're five by,"_ Aisha chimed in.

Pooch held up the grapnel gun and aimed it up towards the roof before he looked to Clay. "I'm a little nervous about this one colonel."

"Whatever you do, you get to that package," Clay ordered with a smile as Pooch shot it up into the air and handed the weapon to Clay before he was taken up into the air and into the window. "Mission is live," he said over the comms.

_"__Acknowledged,"_ Aisha repeated.

Pooch felt his heart pounding in his chest as he climbed into the window and landed in the hospital hallway. He started walking, scanning the room numbers for '517'. His legs were in excruciating pain from the gunshot wounds and he felt himself shaking on his feet, but he wouldn't stop. He would find Jolene's room and he'd see his baby brought into the world. "I'm in," he said over the comms. He finally found the room number he was looking for and stopped to stare at it for a few seconds. He felt the wedding band around his ring finger and tried to calm himself down. "Okay… the Pooch can do this. The Pooch can do this." Sucking in a deep breath he pushed the door open and walked in, pulling open the covers shielding the bed from view.

Pooch immediately spotted Jolene lying out on the bed while a doctor conducted an ultrasound and two other nurses prepared her for the baby to be born. He didn't really pay attention to the others and just stared at his wife. Her hair was down and around her face, she didn't have a stitch of make-up on and she was obviously tired. She never looked more beautiful to him. "Hey," he muttered, noticing the surprise and joy that had formed on her face.

"Sir, you can't be in—"

"No, it's okay…" he muttered walking forward so he was at the foot of the bed. "I'm the father."

"What the hell took you so long?" Jolene asked softly.

"Traffic," Pooch joked.

"Traffic?" She echoed laughing and he couldn't help but laugh with her. He leaned forward to grab her hand and rest his head on her legs covered by the blanket. He closed his eyes and just focused on the feel of her smaller hand in his. He could feel tears start to prickle at the edge of his eyes. His legs were in pain from the position and he was still so tired, but he wouldn't move for anything. He would stay like that for all eternity if he was there with his wife and his soon to be born baby.

"Sir, we need to get you in scrubs," one of the nurses spoke up, moving to his side and smiling politely. "They baby is going to be coming very soon and we need you ready for then."

Pooch looked up to his wife, and he saw that Jolene was smiling and giving him a nod. "Hurry up. Traffic or not, this kid is ready to break out of here."

* * *

"Alright guys, solidify the bets!"

"Two hundred on boy!" Jensen immediately spoke up, slapping four fifties into his sister's open hand. After Clay had regrouped with the others, waiting for Pooch to give them the verdict, the men had all started calling out bets. Sky had taken over the betting pool, and they were all betting what the gender of the baby would be before Pooch told them.

_"__Lo mismo,"_ Cougar said, placing the money into her hand.

Roque shook his head and pulled out his wallet to pull out two hundreds. "I say it's a girl."

"Girl," Clay said simply, handing Aisha the bottle of champagne they had bought on the way to the Coast Guard Air Station for precisely that moment. He pulled out the same amount of money to place it on the pile growing in the mercenary's hand. Aisha handed the bottle back to Clay before taking out two hundred. "It's gonna be a girl."

"Sky, wanna get in on this?" Jensen asked, looking from her to the window above them, practically buzzing in excitement.

"Even if I did have my wallet on me right now, how do you think I would take out money?" She asked, gesturing towards her hand holding the money and her other arm in the sling. Jensen pouted and was about to argue when they heard a baby crying over the comms. They all tensed and silenced, waiting for the verdict before Pooch's voice spoke up, full of absolute joy.

_"__It's a boy! It's a boy and he looks just like me!" _

"Congrats," Clay replied while Aisha and Roque started whining and Jensen cheered in triumph. After spotting his sister having difficulties with the money, he grabbed it from his hands and split it so he took five hundred before handing the sniper five hundred. Clay opened up the bottle of champagne and started shaking it to spread everywhere. Aisha turned away, Jensen leaned back, Roque turned his face slightly, Cougar tilted his head down so it fell off his hat while Sky raised her left hand to prevent the drops of alcohol from flying into her eyes. They were all laughing however, all thrilled with the fact that Pooch had his newborn son and wife with him. Despite the fact that they all had their issues with Roque at that moment, they didn't treat him badly and instead passed the bottle around, each of them taking swigs of the champagne before it ended at the sniper. He raised it to the window before taking a large swig. The group all started walking over to the van and climbed in with Clay and Aisha up front, and the others all stretched out in the back, leaving one of the side doors open to keep the van cool.

_I loved her first! I held her first! And a place in my heart will always be hers!_

Sky jumped at the familiar ringtone and the phone vibrating in her pocket. The eyes of the others were immediately on her as she felt a pit of dread form in her stomach. She had half a mind to ignore it, but she knew it would be _so _much worse for her if she did that. So instead she pulled her phone out of her back pocket—ignoring Jensen who was laughing maliciously as he scooted next to her so he would be able to hear—and answered it, placing it up to her ear. "Hey daddy."

_"__We're stateside. Are you in danger?"_ She heard her father's voice from the other end of the line.

"No…?" She muttered in confusion.

There was a pause. _"__Skylar Christmas, do you have __**any **__idea how worried I was?! What were you thinking?!" _He shouted into the phone. She had to pull it away from her ear and by the expressions on the faces of the Losers around her, she was sure they could hear him too. _"__Two weeks… two __**weeks **__you've been gone without a call! Do you have any idea what that did to me when Tool called and said he hadn't heard from you in two weeks?!"_

"Dad, I'm really sorry, I was just busy," she replied only to immediately regret her statement when she saw the wide-eyed look her brother was giving her.

_"__Busy? You were __**busy**__? Oh, I'd like to hear this. Skylar you tell me what you were doing that kept you so __**busy **__that you couldn't pick up the damn phone and call to let Tool know you were okay!" _

"Um…" Sky looked around the group for some sort of idea of what to do. Clay looked a tad interested, Aisha and Roque looked more amused than anything else, Jensen looked like he wished he had a bowl of popcorn, and Cougar was just watching her with his intense warm brown eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed and he ran his tongue over his lips—

_"__Sky!"_

Sky jumped and turned her attention back to the phone, hoping that no one had noticed she'd zoned out while looking at the sniper. Jensen's smirk made it obvious that he did. She glared at him briefly before she shuffled awkwardly so she climbed out of the van and into the rain so she could pace just outside the vehicle. "Jolene just had her baby," she tried, hoping that the mention of the woman and her newborn were enough to bring her father's anger down a notch.

_"__And it two weeks for her to deliver the baby?" _Her father challenged.

Well there went the hope of playing the baby card.

"Well... no, but I had things to deal with the rest of the time."

_"__Like what?"_

She was vaguely aware of the fact that Roque, Cougar, and Jensen were all near the opened doorway, while Clay was practically leaning over Aisha so they could listen to the conversation. She glared briefly at all of them before she focused on the phone again. Deciding to bite the bullet she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. "Things that involve guns and bullets."

_"__Guns and—"_ Her father cut himself off before he started again full force. _"__What happened? Are you alright?"_

"Kinda…"

_"__What do you __**mean '**__kinda'? It's a yes or no question."_

Sky bit her lip, knowing that the next comment was going to cause her father to freak out even more so than he already was. "I got shot."

_"__S-Shot?! You were __**shot**__?!" _

"But, I'm _totally _okay now, so there's really no need to worry. The bullet didn't hit any arteries or anything." The strangled sort of gasp that escaped her father's throat immediately told her that she hadn't phrased that assurance in the best way possible. "Dad?" She muttered after she didn't hear a response from him. There was a few seconds of silence before she heard muffled shouts, curses, and banging. "Uh... dad?"

_"__Baby-Face."_

Sky frowned in confusion. "Barney?"

_"__Your father is in the middle of a panicked breakdown right now and he's threatening anyone and everyone he could think of and swearing to—and I quote—'castrate the mother fucking suicidal maniac that dared harm you in anyway'. The others are trying to keep him from leaving and murdering half the population of New Orleans. You okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm good Barney."

_"__Are you released from the hospital yet?"_

"Well, I never checked into a hospital," she replied.

_"__What do you mean you never checked into a hospital? Who patched you up?"_

Sky looked over her shoulder briefly, her eyes landing on Cougar before she turned away and smiled to herself. "I have people for that."

_"__You know what, I'm just gonna let that one slide for now. What is your chance of survival?"_

"One hundred percent.

_"__Good. You want to guess what are your chances of seeing the light of day before you turn fifty?"_

Sky exhaled and closed her eyes. "Lower?"

_"__**Much **__lower. So where are you now?"_

"Springfield."

A crash and the sound of her dad shouting in the background caught her attention before Barney spoke up again. _"Do you know where you **should** be right now?"_

"On the road heading back towards New Orleans?"

_"__Good guess."_

Sky sighed slightly before moving back towards the van, mouthing 'time' to the others. Cougar motioned for '8:53' and she nodded before focusing back on the phone. "If I leave now I can get there before four."

_"__Make it three and I might be able to convince your dad not to lock you in your room for the next twenty years."_

"Got it. Thanks Barney."

_"__Get home safe, Baby-Face. Love you."_

"Love you too," she said before hanging up the phone. She quickly pocketed the small device and climbed back into the van, shaking off as much of the rain water as she could. "Well, I'm _so_ screwed it's not even funny," she muttered, looking towards the others. "And the only chance I have at being able to go out on my own in the foreseeable future is by bringing you all to New Orleans."

"Are you going to use us as meat shields?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow in amusement. "Because I don't fancy being killed by a woman's parents."

"Yeah, because that almost happened with Marcy," Roque pointed out.

Clay glared back at him, annoyed he was even speaking to him. "It was a misunderstanding."

"She was nineteen."

"She said she was twenty-one."

"Huh… now I see why you never wanted me near him," Sky muttered to Jensen, earning a smirk and a few amused smiles and an annoyed look from clay. "But I'm not gonna use you people as meat shields, so don't worry. I'm going to toss Jake to Gunnar and hide behind him. I'm hoping that using him as a distraction will get me out of the brunt of the punishment."

"So you'll use _me _as a meat shield?" Jensen pouted.

Sky ignored him. "Anyway, unless I get back to New Orleans within the next… six hours, I think my dad will start killing innocent bystanders or fighting the other members of the Expendables. So, can we go?"

"What about Pooch?" Aisha asked with a raised eyebrow.

Everyone turned to look at Clay who quickly reached for his comms. "Pooch, how's it going?"

_"__He's beautiful Clay. His name is Joey." _

"That's great Pooch, congratulations. We just got a call from the Expendables demanding Sky get home. We're gonna head out to New Orleans. Do you think you can meet us there?"

_"__Yeah, sure, of course. Jolene's about to start feeding him!" _

"Be sure to be in New Orleans for the Petunias game on Sunday!" Jensen said loudly into the comms.

_"__Got it."_

"Alright, keep in touch and take plenty of pictures," Clay said before he let go of the comms and reached into the glove box for the keys. Jensen moved to close the door and soon they were driving away from the hospital and onto the streets.

"Not to be annoying, but do you mind heading towards the Wal-Mart on 45th street?" Sky asked with an apologetic tone to her voice. "That's where I left my car before I went to Bolivia."

"Not a problem."

"Ooh, I'm driving with Sky!" Jensen piped up immediately, flinging his hand into the air and waving it around as if he was a student in class. "Cougs can come too!"

"Roque's not staying in this car with me and Aisha," Clay said without hesitation, causing an awkward tension to fill the car. The demolitions expert scowled and leaned against the van wall while Sky came to the rescue.

"That's fine, he can ride with us. Besides, I can't drive now anyway so one of you guys will have to do it."

The rest of the drive was made in silence until they got to the Wal-Mart. Sky, Jensen, Cougar, and Roque all piled out of the vehicle and grabbed their bags to cram it into the trunk of Sky's car. It took a bit of shoving and cursing to fit all of the bags in, but they managed. And after a large debate as to who should sit where—Jensen pouting and whining that he should drive with Roque up front and Cougar and Sky in the back—they had all climbed in and set off. Not long after they started driving Sky started drifting off again with the warm air pumping through the car and she ended up using the sniper as her pillow. Cougar felt entirely awkward with her leaning against him with Jensen looking back at them every few minutes in the rearview mirror. He knew that he was watching them.

It was well into the second hour of driving before Jensen said something.

"So… Cougs," he spoke up, catching the sniper's attention and Roque's who had been picking at his nails while staring out the window. "What's going on between you and Sky?"

Cougar felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. For a second he could only stare at the back of Jensen's head, opening and closing his mouth to form a response before he started speaking rapidly. _"Nada esta pasando!_ _Te lo juro!_ I swear! Nothing's happening! _No estoy hacienda nada con su novia." _

The car nearly swerved into the next lane as Jensen whipped back to gap at Cougar in surprise.

"Eyes on the road!" Roque hissed, grabbing onto the door handle in fear.

Jensen whipped back around to look at the road and straightened the car out. Two seconds after he had the car back under control he started speaking. "I'm sorry, but can you say that again? Because I'm pretty sure you said _'su novia'_ and I'm not a super awesome Spanish speaker, and I'm aware of this, but I'm pretty sure that _'__su novia'_ means 'your girlfriend' and I _know_ I have to be hearing things if you just referred to Sky as my girlfriend."

"But she is your girlfriend, isn't she?" Roque asked in confusion.

"Oh, ew!"

The exclamation caught both the demolitions expert and the sniper off-guard. Jensen's face was screwed up into one of disgust as he tossed quick looks back towards his two teammates. "Sky is _not_ my girlfriend! She's my _sister!"_

It became absolutely silent in the car.

"Sister?" Cougar echoed, making sure he'd heard him right.

"Yes! God, why would you guys think we were dating?" Jensen asked, shaking his head. "That's so _weird_ to think of!"

"How are you two related?" Roque asked in surprise, looking back and forth between the blonde and the brunette.

"We're adopted! Well… sorta. There weren't any formal papers or anything, but I've known her since I was _six_! I'm so grossed out now," he muttered in disgust. "I _told_ you all she was my sister!"

"You did not!" Roque argued. "You never told us Sky was your sister! You told us your sister's name was Baby-Face!"

Jensen groaned. "Sky's code name for the Expendables is the _Baby-Face_ Assassin. Most times the others will call her Baby-Face instead of Sky just because they're so used to it."

Again there was silence. Then Roque started chuckling. And then he started laughing. He was in the middle of full blown bellowing laughter, practically doubling over in his seat as tears started to prickle in his eyes. He laughed almost a full minute before he trailed off, trying to gain his composure. "I haven't laughed that hard in a while… my abs hurt," he chuckled before looking at Jensen. "That makes _so_ much more sense. I _knew_ you didn't have game to get a girl like that!"

"Hey! Stop insulting me while complimenting my sister!" Jensen whined. "I so _do_ have game!"

"Jensen you're not even _playing_ the same game as the female gender."

"Says you! I'll totally prove you wrong and find a—" The blonde cut himself off as a light bulb went off in his head. He looked back in the rearview mirror and saw that Cougar was staring blankly ahead, looking like he was still trying to process what was happening. "Wait, you were apologizing to me when you made out with Sky because you though we were dating? Is that why you were avoiding her?"

"You two made out?" Roque asked in surprise though no one answered him.

_"__Si,"_ the sniper replied finally finding his voice.

"But you _do_ like her right?"

_"__Si."_

"Aw, thanks buddy!" Jensen beamed, looking briefly at the sniper who was looking even more confused than before. "You were totally ignoring Sky even though you like her because you're my best friend! You're awesome! And I totally take back everything I've ever said about you being a bad wingman! Oh and by the way, all this time I've been _trying _to set the two of you up. So yeah, you should go for it."

"How come you set up Cougar with your sister, but when _I_ tried you told me no?" Roque asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…"

As Jensen launched into an explanation of his logic as to why 'Skougar' is better than 'Skoque', Cougar toned them out and instead looked down to the woman leaning against to him, wrapped up in his jacket. He looked at her face, peaceful and blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. He reached a hand down to stroke her cheek and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. Sky wasn't Jensen's girlfriend, but his _sister._ And while normally that would also be a problem, Jensen said he was actively trying to set them up. So he had the all clear. He scooted closer to the woman and adjusted her slightly so she was resting against his chest with his arm wrapped around her waist. He took care to watch her injured shoulder and he smiled a bit wider when she snuggled a bit closer to him. He felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and he didn't have to worry about keeping his feelings in check. Sky wasn't his girl… but she would be. He'd do whatever he had to in order to see to that.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Okay this chapter is _massive! _I didn't expect it to be over ten thousand words when I started writing it. I wanted to cut it in half, but the only place I could really cut it would make a really short chapter and then another sizable chapter, so I just decided to keep it together! I'm sorry it took so long to get this out! Also, another idea that my lovely reviewers **Sensula **and **Ninjachipmunk** gave me had to do with snippets from the childhood of the kids. I think it would be a fun series of one-shots to do while I work on the A-Team crossover and the original story, so if you guys have any requests for situations you want to see in the one-shot story, feel free to let me know! I should probably start it and have it up in about a week and I'll update whenever I get an interesting idea or whenever someone has a request for a chapter they want to see! And the A-Team story is in the planning phase right now (I'm still toying around with ideas of how the worlds should mesh) and should be started in the next few days. That won't be up until the end of this story however since I'll be putting it under a separate story and different title! I'll try and update when I can and answer any questions you guys have! Thanks so much for being awesome readers and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 7th, 2013_

It was a sudden light that woke Sky up. Her eyes snapped open and she immediately closed them as she was assaulted by the light. He snuggled farther into her pillow, trying to bury her face far from the light, before she realized that her pillow was very warm, smelt amazing, and was moving. It took a few seconds for her brain to catch up with her and it clicked in her mind that the awesome pillow she was using was Cougar. She opened her eyes again and blinked against the light before looking up and spotting the Spaniard looking down at her with a beautiful smile. He took her face in one of his hands and stroked her cheek, immediately causing her heart to skip a beat.

_"__Buenos dias,"_ he whispered to her.

She smiled up at him and was about to respond before she felt someone hit her leg. She turned her head and saw that Jensen was sitting backwards in the driver's seat, slapping at her leg repeatedly, trying to catch her attention. She was horrified for a split second and was about to scream at her brother to turn around before she realized that they were thankfully parked. "Okay, I totally don't mean to interrupt this moment right here, but Sky, guess what?"

"What Jake?" She asked, groaning as she sat up properly and stretched her back slightly.

"All the others thought we were _dating!"_

Sky's face immediately screwed up into one of disgust. "Oh, ew!"

"That's what I said!"

"Why?" She asked, looking around to both Roque and Cougar. "He _told_ you guys we were brother and sister, right?"

_"__Now _he did," Roque replied with an amused smile.

Sky tossed her brother a look and he immediately whined. "Hey! They _assumed_ we were dating! They never asked to know about you! But I informed them of their critical error! And I told Clay and Aisha over the comms so no worries about _that_ mistake happening again."

She rolled her eyes before shaking her head. "Anyway, why are we parked?"

"We're here."

Sky paled immediately, looking out the window and spotting the 'Tool's' sign just a few yards ahead of them on the street. "Where are—"

"Clay and Aisha are parked behind us waiting for you to tell us what you want to do," Roque said before she could finish her question.

Jensen grinned at her. "Time to face the music, Sky."

"Shut up," she retorted, sucking in a deep breath as she felt her stomach turn into a maze of knots. She looked at the three men around her briefly before she exhaled loudly, pressing the button on the comms. "Alright, I'm going in. When I call you guys, please come in. And if you hear screaming and/or banging, please come in immediately," she said before letting go of the comms.

_"__Acknowledged,"_ Aisha said for both her and Clay.

Sky looked towards her brother. "You had _better_ be the first person to walk in. I'm counting on you and your dad to get me out of this."

"I will make no such promises."

"I'll smash your laptop."

Jensen gaped at her in horror. "You heathen! Is nothing sacred?"

"Just be ready to get in there," she hissed at him before climbing out of the car. She walked towards the building and immediately started to feel self-conscious. She was only wearing her sweatpants and Cougar's jacket which was obviously big on her. It wouldn't take them long to realize it was a male's jacket. That was immediately going to be a strike against her when she walked in. And the white makeshift sling would cause her to be swarmed also. She stopped a few feet away from the door, her panic starting to set in. She had never run away from a challenge before, but she was really considering turning tail and booking it down the street.

_"__C'mon Sky, don't punk out,"_ Jensen piped up from the comms. She turned back to look at him and saw that he was sticking his head halfway out the car and was smiling at her and motioning for her to move forward. She bit her lip and nodded before sucking in a deep breath and grabbing the handle of the door. The second she opened it and walked in she was relieved to see that no one was in the front room of the tattoo shop. She heard the sounds of arguments and shouts coming from the garage and she pressed the comms on her neck.

"I'm in. The package is in the garage."

_"__Acknowledged. We'll be ready to move."_

After a second to compose herself she started moving through the shop and towards the garage, walking as quietly as humanly possible. She poked her head around the corner and saw the Expendables all in the garage. Gunnar and Yin were standing around her father who was shouting and shoving at them, trying to make it to his bike that Toll, Caesar and Tool were resting on, making a human barricade so that the knife thrower wouldn't get out. Barney was leaning against the desk, shaking his head at Lee. "Calm down Christmas."

"What do you mean 'calm down'?!" Her dad exploded, glaring his way. "My daughter is out there, _shot!_ You expect me to calm down?!"

"She's gonna be fine, Lee," the Italian replied as calmly as possible. "Baby-Face is a fighter. And she'll be here soon."

Building her courage she stepped out into the garage and cleared her throat. Almost immediately all the men looked her way and she grinned sheepishly. "I guess that's my cue."

Lee shoved past Gunnar and Yin and all but sprinted towards his daughter, pulling her into a hug but taking care not to hurt her shoulder. "Oh thank God," he muttered, pressing kisses to her forehead and running his hand through her hair. After a few seconds he pulled away and almost immediately she was swarmed by the other Expendables.

"Where the hell have you been, Baby-Face?" Caesar asked as he and Toll moved forward and hugged her tightly.

"Around," she muttered with a small smile before she was flicked in the noise. She whined before realizing it was Yin who had flicked her nose. She tensed slightly, preparing to get her ass handed to her by the martial artist—as he normally did whenever she got in trouble—but she was relieved when instead of attack her, he pulled her into a light hug. She was pretty sure the only reason she wasn't getting her ass kicked at that moment was because she was shot, but she wasn't complaining.

She felt a hand fall on her head and she looked back to see Gunnar ruffling her hair before leaning down to kiss her cheek and give her a quick side hug. Barney moved over next and raised an eyebrow in her direction. "You look tired kid," he muttered, moving forward to hug her slightly.

"I am tired," she said hugging him back before she caught sight of Tool from over his shoulder. He was looking at her with something suspiciously close to tears in his eyes and immediately she felt guilty. She pulled away from Barney and walked over to the tattoo artist so she could hug him. She felt worse when she heard his shaky inhale breath. "Hey Tool."

"You should've called," he muttered while hugging her tightly. "I was worried."

"I didn't mean to worry you," she replied, pulling away and smiling up at him before turning to look at the others. "I didn't mean to worry any of you."

"How's your arm?" Lee asked immediately, moving over to his daughter to examine the sling on her shoulder. His fingers ghosted over the area, but didn't touch the appendage, making sure he didn't hurt his daughter. "What happened?"

"I got shot in the shoulder and fell off a catwalk around fifty feet above a bay."

Sky was pretty sure she saw her father's eye twitch as he looked slowly up to her face, a raised eyebrow and a set jaw that showed he was not satisfied with her answer. She grinned sheepishly before he straightened and narrowed his eyes at her. "You had better have a damn good explanation as to where you've been. Anything short of 'saving the fucking world' is going to get you in more trouble than you can imagine."

"Whoa, wait a second, I have a very good explanation," Sky assured, backing away from her father slightly and walking backwards towards where the garage door was. She held up her good hand to the as the mercenaries started stalking towards her. "I was in Bolivia."

"You're already off to a bad start," Lee retorted, his eyes narrowing further.

"It gets worse," she admitted sheepishly, gnawing on her lower lip nervously.

"Who's jacket is that?" Tool asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um..."

"What's around your neck?" Yin asked suddenly before she could answer, bringing everyone's attention to the comms around her neck.

Toll's eyes narrowed. "Are those comms?"

Barney raised an eyebrow. "Were you working with another team?"

"Yeah, sort of…" she trailed off, immediately earning a fierce glare from all the other men. Barney, Tool, and her father all seemed to be gearing up for an argument or a lecture—probably both—before she turned to look at the blonde Viking she'd known since childhood. His jaw was set slightly since the mention of Bolivia. "Gunnar, you've got to back me up here."

Gunnar blinked in surprise before he raised an eyebrow in her direction, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know with normal circumstances I would Baby-Face, but you've been gone for two weeks with no word and you come back shot. You gotta give me a reason to back you up."

"I do have a reason," she assured, smiling slightly in his direction. "I brought you back a present."

"What sort of present?" Gunnar asked, perking up the slightest bit. The others all shot him a glare and he cleared his throat and tried to screw his face up into a 'glare' to look at the brunette girl, but it failed largely and instead he ended up winking at her. "Did you find me some baby seal or whale ass?"

"Um… no," Sky muttered, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose in disgust. "But, it's something I know you'll appreciate much more," she assured, moving back towards the garage door in order to press the button so it raised up, letting the cool early morning air in. When she looked to the others and saw them looking at her in confusion she sucked in a deep breath and smiled, reaching her hand up to hold onto the comms. "You guys can come in now."

"Who did you just call in?" Barney asked, tensing.

Sky didn't answer and instead just smiled as she looked towards the blonde Viking who was looking absolutely confused as to what she was doing. She heard the sound of doors slamming shut and whispering voices before Jensen appeared in the open doorway, looking a bit like a lost puppy as he stood there, staring at the others.

Gunnar's heart stopped. His mouth spilled open and his eyes immediately began to water as he looked in front of him. There was no way he'd mistake the blonde hair, the bright blue eyes—_his_ eyes—behind the glasses. There was no way he'd mistake the familiar build and the way his nostrils flared slightly as he tried not to cry. It was Jake. It was his son. But that wasn't possible. Jake was dead. It had to be a dream. He stared in disbelief, his heart pounding hard in his chest. "Hey dad... I'm home," Jensen muttered, his voice cracking slightly. Hearing his voice snapped Gunnar out of his state of shock.

"Jake," he whispered before rushing forward. The smaller blonde moved towards him and Gunnar reached out, grabbing the back of his son's head and pulling him into his chest. He felt his arms wrap around his torso and his face on his shoulder. He felt his son's hair in his fingers and he could feel his son's heartbeat from where his hand was around the back of his torso, above his heart. It wasn't a dream. Almost immediately the Viking broke down, clutching onto his son for all he was worth, scared he would disappear again as sobbed. All the emotions and heartbreak he'd felt over the four months came back full force, but the difference was he wasn't sad. He was happy. He was _so_ damn happy. "Oh God, Jake, please tell me I'm not dreaming," Gunnar pleaded in between sobs.

"It's not a dream. I'm here dad," Jensen assured, as tears streamed down his own face.

"Jake!"

Almost immediately the two blondes found themselves being swarmed by the other Expendables. They were all talking and asking questions at once before taking turns hugging the younger blonde. When all the Expendables got a turn, Gunnar had quickly reclaimed a hold of his son wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pulling him so his chest was against Jensen's back. "So…" The mercenaries all turned to see Sky waiting by the garage door, where the other Losers were standing, watching the scene unfold before them. She had a hopeful smile on her face as she looked to her family. "I take it you like your present?"

Without speaking, Gunnar let go of his son and started moving towards the brunette. She looked at him in slight confusion before he reached down and grabbed her into a bear hug, practically crushing her and lifting her off the ground. She immediately yelped as agonizing pain flared in her shoulder, but the blonde didn't pay attention to it. He just continued to squeeze her in a hug. "Thank you, thank you," he muttered over and over again, kissing her cheek. "Thank you."

"Ow, ow, ow, Gunnar, my shoulder!"

"Oh shit, sorry," he apologized, remembering that the brunette had gotten shot, before dropping the woman to the ground. He was about to curse again realizing he just _dropped_ her before someone grabbed her so she didn't fall awkwardly on her feet and started checking over her shoulder. It took him a few seconds to place the face underneath the cowboy hat before it clicked in his head. It was Yin, however, that beat him to the punch.

"You're Jake's team," the martial artist said, looking towards the Losers. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked towards Aisha. "You're new and the other man is missing."

"And you're the Expendables," Aisha fired back, eyeing them all critically.

"How do you know about us?" Toll demanded.

Clay cleared his throat. "I think we're going about this the wrong way."

"I agree," Barney put in, stepping into the middle of both teams and looking seriously at all of them. "Baby-Face, Jake, I think it's about time for some introductions and explanations."

* * *

After a brief round of introductions—which had been conducted with Jensen pointing to different people and saying their names—they had all moved further into the garage and closed the door. Barney, Caesar and Toll had dragged in chairs from the kitchen and the front of the shop to make a makeshift sitting area in the garage around the mats. And for whoever didn't have a chair they just sat on whatever they could. Aisha, Clay, Cougar, Roque, Tool, Barney, and Caesar all had chairs while Yin was leaning against one of the metal beams in the room, staring down the Losers critically—specifically honing in on Cougar who was doing the same to the martial artist—Toll was leaning on Barney's car, Lee was sitting on one side of the desk and Gunnar was sitting on the other, their two children sitting on the desk top which was the area the others were facing. Once everyone was situated, Barney turned to the two kids he'd known for years. "Alright you two, the floor is yours."

Almost immediately Sky nudged Jensen in the ribs causing him to glare down at her. When she just gestured to the others, he sighed and turned back to the group, smiling slightly. "Well… um, hello! I guess we should start the story from what happened in Bolivia. So, me and the guys—" Jensen paused to point towards the Losers, "—were on a mission in Bolivia. We had to take down some drug lord named Fadhil—who, by the way, is Aisha's dad. But we didn't meet her yet. Anyway, we were on the mission and we were lazing the target for an airstrike when Cougs saw children. We tried to radio it in and call off the mission when our CIA handler, Max, said that no matter what the compound was gonna go boom. So, me, being the heroic and courageous—"

_"Jensen,"_ Clay said, in a warning tone, tossing the blonde a look.

Jensen cleared his throat. "Ahem, anyway, _we_ all went in to try and save the kids. We were taking on like fifty dudes with AK's and doing pretty well. We got the kids out and we all managed to get out of the blast zone without dying. When we got to the evac site the crew chief on our chopper said that he couldn't take all of us, so we decided to give the chopper to the kids. But Max thought we were on the chopper and shot it down."

"That's why all those poor kids died," Tool said in a sort of detached voice.

"Yeah," the blonde muttered with a sad expression gracing his features. "We realized that Max wanted us dead and that we'd be blamed for the whole thing, so we tossed our tags into the wreckage and pretended we were dead. We hiked into the nearest town and tried to stay under the radar; we got jobs and tried to get enough money to get clean passports to get back stateside."

"Jake was working in a doll factory," Sky piped up in amusement.

Caesar immediately started laughing and turned to look at the blonde, while the other Expendables tried not to smile imagining the rough and tough mercenary-raised hacker surrounded by frilly dolls. "It's not funny! They worked us like animals in there!" Jensen cried dramatically. "Back me up on this Cougs!" The mercenaries all turned to look at the Spaniard who blushed slightly and dipped his hat low on his face so they couldn't see the red tint spreading across his cheeks. Jensen pouted seeing that he was getting no help from the sniper and it made the mercenaries laugh harder. _"Anyway_," he spoke up, glaring briefly at Sky, "like I was saying, we were flying under the radar for four months before Clay met Aisha. Aisha told Clay that she had a way to get Max and get us stateside. The day we met with Aisha was the day that Sky showed up."

"I guess that means it's my turn," Sky muttered, sucking in a deep breath. "Well, when we got the word that Jake was 'KIA' we all started coping in different ways."

"Coping?" Toll asked with a raised eyebrow, looking her way. "You and Gunnar broke down and you attacked Victoria with your blade boots."

_"What?" _Jensen asked in surprise, whipping around to look at his sister. "When did you attack my birthgiver?"

"Birthgiver?" Aisha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The term 'mother' is too kind and nurturing for her," he replied with missing a beat or looking away from his sister. "Now, explain."

Sky shrugged. "It was the day after we found out you were dead, she was yelling at Gunnar, _and_ she slapped me in the face. I feel I was completely justified in my actions."

"You were going to kick her in the temple with the blade," Yin deadpanned.

"You and dad caught my leg before it connected," she pointed out, shrugging it off as if nearly murdering Jensen's mother wasn't a big deal. Clay, Aisha, Roque, and Cougar all shared looks at her nonchalant attitude towards attacking Jensen's mother and the fact that Jensen didn't seem to bothered by it either. They were going to have to talk with their comms tech and find out a bit more about his family. "So my actions were _slightly_ excessive. You guys aren't exactly the poster boys for self-restraint and subtly.

"Baby-Face," Barney spoke up, tossing her a look. "You were saying?"

"Right, sorry. Anyway, we started coping in different ways. Gunnar and I spiraled and the others tried to keep us together by arranging missions. When I snapped I was benched and had all my weapons confiscated, so I started writing Jolene. We wrote back and forth to talk about everything and since she was so far along in her pregnancy I decided to visit when you guys went on mission to Bulgaria. It was just luck that Pooch called after I showed up."

"Who's Pooch?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow and a slightly amused expression on his face at the name.

"He's our heavy weapons specialist and transpo guy," Jensen answered with a small grin. "He's like Caesar but not as massive."

Caesar smirked and flexed for the group.

"Interesting name," Lee replied before he smirked and eyed the Spaniard in the room. He had noticed the way the sniper had moved to help his daughter and the way he kept looking her way. So he was going to screw with him. "Though it's not nearly as bad as 'Cougar'." Almost immediately the sniper turned to look at the knife thrower with a narrowed stare. "I'd rather be considered a dog than a pussy cat." Cougar's glare intensified and Lee only smirked back.

"Dad!" Sky hissed.

"Cut it out, Lee," Barney said in exasperation. "Quit harassing their sniper."

"Just giving my opinion," Lee smirked again.

_"Anyway_," Sky cut in, tossing an annoyed look towards her dad. "Pooch had called while I was there, but he hung up. When we called back we figured out the calls were coming from payphones in Bolivia. It didn't take us long to realize that the Losers weren't on the chopper because there wasn't any room. We started searching and managed to narrow down the area to _Creencia_ before I left for Bolivia."

"How exactly did you get to Bolivia?" Gunnar asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She called in Church," Jensen spoke up before she could side-step the question.

"You called _Church?"_ Barney asked narrowing his eyes and adopting his 'Godfather' look. Sky winced, noticing how serious he looked. She quickly turned and glared at her brother. He just grinned in response.

"You brought up the doll factory."

Her glare intensified before she looked back to the others. Upon seeing the looks she was getting from her family she decided to just bite the bullet. "Just after we got back from the mission in Albania I got a package from Church. It was a phone and tablet with a note that said I could get in contact with him whenever I needed a favor since I saved his ass. When I figured out Jake was still alive I called him to get me to Bolivia."

"After _Albania?"_ Barney repeated in disbelief. "And you tell us about this _now?"_

"I didn't think it was something I had to tell you guys about. I know how to handle myself. And I had other things on my mind at that time."

"You still should've told us," the Italian repeated before he dropped the issue for the time being. The look on his face—and the faces of the others—told her she was going to get an earful about it the second all the explanations were over.

Resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have a lecture in the near future she sighed and continued on with her part of the explanation. "I spent a few days wandering around _Creencia_ before I found Jake and these guys. When I showed up I offered to call Church in so we could get them back without going after Max, but they wanted to take him down so I offered to help."

"After that we flew to Mexico in coffins—which is _so_ not fun—and got over the border," Jensen took over. "From there we stole a chopper and raided a convoy in Miami that Aisha told us Max was travelling in. Turns out that instead of Max it was actually just a courier drive. So, we decided to break into Goliath to steal the algorithm to get onto the drive."

"And then Roque stabbed us in the back," Clay put in with a harsh tone, immediately making the atmosphere tense. Roque glared over in his direction while the Expendables all looked around in confusion.

"Someone care to explain?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Our good for nothing second in command sold us out to Max," the colonel said immediately.

Roque stood up from his chair, the metal legs scrapping back loudly against the concrete floor and glared towards Clay. "You know, I'm getting really sick and tired of listening to this shit."

"And I'm sick and tired of seeing you still breathing."

"I could've killed you, but I didn't so why don't you show a little bit of gratitude?"

"I'm not going to show gratitude to the man who stabbed us in the back!"

"You know what—"

The sound of a gun safety being taken off caught their attention and they both turned to see Barney still casually sitting in his chair with his revolver out and resting on his thigh. His hand was curled around the handle and he was just tapping it lightly against his lap, his eyes fixated on the two arguing men. "Don't mind me, you two keep arguing," Barney said indifferently. "But fair warning, the second you start fighting and become a threat we _will_ kill you. I don't care who you are."

Clay and Roque shared a look before they noticed the other Expendables. Somehow throughout their arguing Gunnar had pulled out a large bowie knife and was shining it nonchalantly, Caesar was opening and closing his large razor blade, Toll had brass knuckles on his fists, Yin had shuriken blades in between his fingers, and Tool and Lee were both twirling knives, acting for all the world as if everything was completely normal. Clay and Roque tensed realizing that they were completely serious and that they would carry through with their threat without hesitation. Cougar twitched slightly, reaching for his revolver in the waistband of his pants, while Aisha did the same. "Ah, ah," Lee cut in, pointing his knife in their direction. "That's a good way to get killed."

"Not that we don't trust you," Tool said with a smile. He stopped for a second before laughing. "No, actually, that's just it. We don't trust you. We just got the kiddos back with us," he said easily, pointing towards Jensen and Sky who were looking back and forth between the two groups with concern on their faces. They knew how fast the whole situation could escalate. "And we'll do anything—_kill anyone_—that we think might take them away from us again."

"So… you boys really do live up to your reputation," Aisha replied with an inkling of respect as she removed her hand from her gun and put them both back into plain view. Cougar wasn't nearly as cooperative, but after pleading looks from both Jensen and Sky, he complied, keeping his hands folded in his lap.

"So how exactly do you know us?" Toll asked.

"My father found out about Max's plan and wanted to stop him. We had started looking into the best teams around to take him down and your team popped up at the top. We called and offered you a job to gather information in India from the company Max was going to buy his weapons from. The day after we made the call was the day that they showed up and my father was killed," Aisha explained, motioning vaguely to Clay, Roque, Cougar, and Jensen.

"So, _you_ were the one who called in the sketchy India job," Barney said with a nod before he looked back towards Clay and Roque, switching topics back to the matter at hand. "Now back to you boys, I want to know exactly what you two were talking about." Clay glared at Roque and was about to open his mouth before the Italian cut him off. "Not from you," he said. He pointed his finger at Roque. "From him."

Roque looked to the Italian in surprise before he grabbed his seat again and sucked in a breath, getting ready to explain. "After the Miami job, I wanted to kill Aisha. We had no reason to trust her. But Clay just kept buying into her bullshit and—"

"Don't you dare put this on me," Clay hissed.

"What do you want me to say? It's the truth!" The demolitions expert retorted angrily. "You were too busy screwing around with Aisha to see what was happening!"

"If you recall, I wasn't the one who sold them out to Max," Aisha pointed out coldly.

"No you're right, but you were the reason I called and cut a deal! I wasn't just going to let the others die because Clay had his head shoved so far up his own ass!"

This time it was Clay that jumped to his feet, hand balled up into fists and his eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. The Expendables all tensed. Cougar almost immediately jumped out of his seat and moved to intercept their CO. He stood in front of Clay and held his hands up, trying to push him back away from Roque. Clay's glare switched from Roque to Cougar, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're _defending_ him?"

"He's defending you," Sky cut in. When Clay turned to look her way he saw that Barney had his revolver raised and aimed at his forehead while the others had all tightened the grip on their weapons. "They don't make empty threats, Colonel. You might want to take a seat."

It took a few seconds of looking around at the mercenaries—and Cougar's small nudges—before he backed over to his chair and sat down reluctantly. He still glared fiercely in Roque's direction, but he didn't move to start a fight. Seeing that everything was handled, Cougar took his seat again, but looked around warily, clearly uncomfortable and twitchy with the fact that the others all had weapons out and he couldn't grab his gun. "So," Lee started, going back to twirling his knife with a loose grip. "Tell me why you thought selling them out to this Max guy would save them."

Roque sighed. "The deal was that I turn over the drive and work with them and in exchange the others were supposed to be let go."

"Yeah, well that didn't happen," Clay muttered underneath his breath, though everyone could still hear it.

"Well, I gotta say that's a more noble reason than mine," Gunnar spoke up with a sheepish grin on his face, gesturing to the group of mercenaries with his knife. "I sold them out because I was so messed up in the head with meth. A bit of advice kiddos, stay away from the drugs."

"Thanks for that lovely public service announcement, Gunnar," Sky replied sarcastically.

Gunnar glared playfully in her direction.

"We'll deal with your internal issues later," Barney piped up, looking towards the Losers. "Right now, Jake, keep explaining."

"Oh right," the blonde piped up before clearing his throat. "So anyway, after Roque made the call and after we stole the algorithm from Goliath, we hacked onto the drive and saw that Max's 'base' was in the Port of Los Angeles. We drove over there to raid their computer network and try and get evidence to prove that Max orchestrated what happened in Bolivia. When we got there Aisha and Sky so cleverly got a boat by—"

Sky promptly punched her brother in the thigh, causing him to whine.

"By doing _what?"_ Lee asked with a raised eyebrow, leveling a look at his daughter.

"I just used a bit of finesse," Sky replied easily, tossing her father a smile before looking back and glaring at her brother. "Please, continue Jake."

Jensen gulped slightly at the murderous expression on his sister's face and decided that selling her out to her father on anything else wouldn't be wise. He cleared his throat again and turned back to the group. "Well, they got a boat and we scouted the port for a way in. We got a plan in place and we were going to wait until morning to go through with it, but while I was trying to tie together a missing four million from Fadhil, we found out that Aisha was Fadhil's daughter. Clay and Aisha were… er… _talking_ about the mission so we bust in to try and get Clay away from Aisha, before she shot me in the arm and—"

"She shot you in the arm?" Gunnar repeated, his lighthearted tone from earlier going far darker in an instant. There was a dangerous glint in his blue eyes as he looked to the Bolivian who tensed in her seat, looking like she was prepared to fight if she had to. "Which arm?" He asked, without taking his eyes off the woman.

"Uh… my left," Jensen muttered.

The elder blonde finally pried his eyes away from the Bolivian and turned to his son. Since he was sitting on Jake's left side anyway, all he had to do was reach up and lift his son's sleeve so he could see the white bandaging. The second his eyes landed on the thick bandage on his son's shoulder he clenched his jaw. "She shot you… tell me why she isn't dead already."

Aisha tensed.

"It was just a misunderstanding," Jensen started explaining quickly, knowing that if he didn't diffuse his father he'd kill Aisha the first chance he got. "After I got patched up we decided to move forward with the job ahead of schedule because we didn't think we could trust her. But because Roque had sold us out the Kryon and Max were waiting and captured us."

"Not all of us," Sky piped up with an amused smile.

Yin looked to the brunette and smiled. "You got away?"

"Of course," she replied with a grin. "I was with Jake when he got caught. He was inside one of the buildings and I was on the roof so they didn't see me. He told me to go to Cougar so I took off," she explained, gesturing towards the sniper. His lips curved up the slightest bit when she her eyes met his and she had to make a conscious effort not to smile back, especially with everyone looking at her. "By the time I got to him the Kryon just found him. Pooch and Clay were taken right before that and Roque was trying to get me to give myself in."

"Knowing you, you probably didn't," Toll said with a grin.

"You know me so well. I evaded them and hopped into the bay and hid underneath the dock. Idiots didn't even think to look under there. When they left I had to swim all the way to the boat we got for recon because there was no way I would try to go back through the Port. It was not fun. It was three miles of nonstop swimming and that water was freezing."

"Did you get hypothermia?" Lee asked immediately, looking at her in concern.

"No, I remembered the rules. I stripped down and went to go get some warmer clothes before I ran into Aisha," Sky explained before smiling at the Bolivian. "And we had a bit of an... _altercation_."

"What kind of an altercation?" Tool asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a minor catfight."

"What?" Jensen whined, looking upset as he turned to his sister. "I missed a catfight?"

"I was only in my underwear," Aisha commented with a smirk on her face just to torment the hacker.

His whining increased while Sky rolled her eyes. She had half a mind to tell him that she was in her underwear too—just so she could shatter his little mental image—but apparently Caesar pieced things together faster than she could debate the merits of telling her brother. "Wait, so you both went at it in just your underwear?" There was a pause in Jensen's whining before he groaned in disgust and covered his eyes, muttering about mental images. "All you needed was a mud pit and you'd be set," the heavy weapons specialist laughed, causing Jensen to complain more.

"Yeah, it wasn't that type of catfight," Sky replied, narrowing her eyes playfully at the man. "It went more along the lines of a brawl and a short trip down the stairs."

"Trip?" Aisha repeated with a raised eyebrow and a smile on her face. "We didn't 'trip'. You sent us down the stairs."

"I was _trying_ to tackle you into the metal railing. I misjudged the distance."

"So, you shot Jake and then you attacked my daughter," Lee piped up, narrowing his eyes dangerously at the Bolivian. "That's two strikes against you."

"Okay, in all fairness, _I_ was the one who attacked Aisha," the young mercenary put in as soon as she saw the tension that filled Aisha and the deadly aura emanating from her father. "And after our little tiff I realized if I was going to get the others I would need her help. So we came to an understanding and got a plan in place to rescue our damsels." At the 'damsels' comment, she got a look from Clay, Jensen, and Cougar. She smiled slightly and ignored the looks she was being sent and continued. "Aisha and I snuck back into the Port pretty easily. Since the Kryon were all focusing on the boys, there weren't many people around the perimeter which worked to our advantage. Aisha climbed along the shipping containers and took position while I managed to take out a Kryon soldier, steal his uniform and blend in."

"I got a question about that," Roque spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest and looking pointedly at the woman. "How the hell were you able to blend in? You're clearly a woman. And you managed to merge into two groups of soldiers without being recognized."

"It's all about finding the people that won't be missed," she replied with a one shoulder shrug. "You have to watch and see who the low men on the totem pole are. More often than not, no one will really remember the name or face of a scrub."

"Then how were you barking out orders in Miami?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Soldiers are predictable. You can always rely on soldiers to follow orders that don't interfere with their own moral values. And in the midst of chaos soldiers need orders. As long as you have confidence and give orders that make sense you'll have people listen to you," she explained before looking back to her family. "Anyway, after I blended in, I found where they were holding the others and hung around that area until they were moved so they could be executed. I radioed into Aisha the second we got the order and she got ready to give a distraction. But before Aisha was ready one of the men shot Pooch in both of his legs and started threatening to kill Cougar." She paused and looked apologetically towards her brother and the sniper. "I'm sorry I didn't do something sooner."

"Not your fault," Jensen assured, patting her knee lightly.

_"No te preocupes_, _mi querida,_" Cougar replied with a small smile.

Almost immediately all of the Expendables shared a look while Sky's lips curved up involuntarily. Tool started chuckling to himself, while the others all looked to Lee. The knife thrower was working the muscles in his jaw and pursing his lips, trying to keep a neutral expression on his face. Part of being mercenaries meant they needed to go places all over the world. So because of that they all knew at least the basic phrases from a handful of different languages. Spanish was no different. And they all knew that _'mi querida'_ translated into 'my dear'. And based on the smirk that Cougar was sending Lee's way, he was well aware that the Expendables knew what he said. "Well, how about that," Barney muttered with a grin on his face, looking back and forth between the sniper and their mercenary.

"You and I are going to have a conversation later," Lee said, turning his attention to his daughter. Sky pouted and started trying to explain herself but he sent her a look that silenced her. "Right now, finish explaining."

"I got it!" Jensen assured, taking over. He noticed what was happening with Cougar and Lee and he thought it was smart to try and take the attention as far away from his sister and his OTP as possible before the knife thrower started tearing into them. "Anyway, after Aisha shot a rocket into a car port—which was _way_ badass—Sky took off and started ripping the Kryon apart with those blade boots she has. On a side note, I'm highly upset that I don't have a pair of boots like hers. I'm starting to sense some favoritism here."

"The day I made them is the day we found out you 'died'," Tool retorted. "I didn't think you'd need a pair."

"Touché."

"Besides, you don't use kicks like she does. You use punches," Toll pointed out before gesturing to the brass knuckles on his fingers. "You'd be better off with maybe some bladed brass knuckles."

Jensen's eyes lit up at the suggestion and he turned from his trainer to the tattoo artist. Tool smiled and nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Baby-Face, how'd the boots hold up in combat?"

"I loved 'em," she assured with a large grin. "Absolutely no complaints."

"Good to hear."

"Jake," Gunnar piped up, nudging his son. "You were saying?"

"Oh right, sorry. So Sky helped cut us loose and we all regrouped. We tried patching up Pooch before we went back to the van and started going after Max. Clay went after Roque and the rest of us tried to keep down the Kryon. Pooch gave me cover and I took off after Max and ended up finding a snook. It's a next generation weapon that Max had been buying up. It was activated and I had no idea how to deactivate it. That was around the time Clay said we couldn't kill Roque and that they saw Max so I doubled back to go to the others. Pooch managed to find the _prettiest_ canary yellow stretch hummer and we all piled in to head towards the area Clay, Roque, and Sky were."

"Why did you put Roque off limits if you wanted him dead?" Barney asked.

"I didn't want to," Clay retorted, gesturing vaguely to Sky.

The mercenary grinned sheepishly and started explaining. "I had broken off from the others and went to go help Clay. By the time I made it to him he was unconscious and Roque was about to shoot him, but he couldn't do it. So I ran over and knocked him away from Clay and got ready to kill him, but I couldn't help but think back to Gunnar and what happened during the Vilena job," she said, purposely leaving out the fact that she was also reminded of Billy. "So I gave him a way out and he took it."

"Sentimental…" Yin trailed off with a frown on his face. "You can't do that again."

"Yin's right," her father added on. "Roque could've killed you if he wanted because you let your emotions take over. Next time, you don't let your feelings get in the way. You get a shot and you take it, got it?"

"Yes sir," she nodded, clenching her jaw slightly.

"Now, go on."

"Wade—Max's right hand man—was heading our way, but thankfully Cougar had us covered and took him out. Clay, Roque, and I started to head back towards the others when we got word from Jake about the snook. That was when we saw Max trying to escape. We tried to catch him, so I told Clay to go up the stairs while I climbed up the scaffolding."

"You climbed _up_ a scaffolding? Voluntarily?" Caesar grinned.

"It was adrenaline induced and I immediately regretted it afterwards," she retorted without missing a beat. "Roque was stationed at the stairs while we went up. By the time I made it to the top Max tried tossing the pressure detonator for the snook over the edge of the catwalk so I jumped over and caught it. Max shot me in the shoulder and I fell off. I'm guessing Clay jumped in after me, but I'm not sure. I blacked out when I hit the water. Roque showed up to help and the two of them got me to shore before we all took off towards the boat again so Cougar could patch up Pooch and I. After that I called in Church and you know the rest from there."

"What you did was completely and utterly stupid," Lee commented, looking seriously at his daughter. She winced and bit her lip before he smiled up at her and held her good hand in his. "But it was brave. And I'm so very proud of you for going after you brother and bringing him back home. You did what you had to."

It grew silent for a moment and Sky looked around at her family with a smile. "So… does that mean I'm off the hook?"

"Not a chance in Hell."

The smile promptly fell off of Sky's face and she started whining. "But I _totally_ saved Jake's ass!"

"The end doesn't justify the means, Sky," her father retorted without hesitation, while the other Expendables were smiling and trying not to laugh at the scene of their youngest about to get chewed out. The Losers all had the decency to look embarrassed for her, while Cougar had to press his lips together to prevent a frown from spreading across his face at the scene. "We _told_ you to stay put while we were gone. You managed to convince Tool to let you go and then you took advantage of his kindness and flew off to Bolivia without letting anyone know."

"Not even mentioning the whole Church thing, which we _will_ be discussing later," Barney put in.

Sky pouted. "But Barney—"

"No 'but's' Skylar," Lee cut her off.

Jensen had to fight off a smile as he looked towards his sister. "Told you they wouldn't let you off the hook."

"And just what are you smiling for, Jake?" Gunnar asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked towards his son. "You're in just as much trouble as Baby-Face."

Jensen sobered immediately. "Wait, what?"

"You were alive for _four_ months without a single call to let us know you were alive. You think you're just going to skirt past that without getting in trouble?"

"B-But… that wasn't my fault!" Jensen whined.

"Oh yes it was," his father retorted. "If your friend Pooch could call his wife then you sure as hell could've called us. We would've gotten you out of there within a _week_. You know that."

"So really it's all Jake's fault," Sky pointed out, earning a horrified look from her brother. She sent him an apologetic smile, but she didn't take back what she said. Getting in trouble when your family is full of mercenaries was _not_ pleasant and if she could pawn off some of the blame—well _most_ of the blame—onto her brother then she would do it. "I mean if he had just _called_ then I wouldn't have had to go off by myself."

"Sky!" Jensen exclaimed, jumping off the table and looking to her with absolute dismay written across his features. She gave him a helpless 'what can you do?' sort of look. He noticed the eyes of the Expendables on him and he panicked. He _really_ didn't want to get in trouble. So he did the first thing he could think of. Sell out his sister. "Sky knew you guys were calling her, but she chose not to answer the phone!"

"Oh this is gonna be good," Caesar chuckled, scrambling for his phone to pull it out and start recording the scene.

Sky's eyes popped open in horror and she jumped off the table to stalk towards her brother. "What are you doing?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"It's every man for himself!" He whispered back before looking towards the others. "She was totally ignoring you guys! I told her not to, but she didn't listen!"

"Well, Jake had all his computers and tablets and phones with him and he _chose_ not to call anyone to let them know he was alive!" Sky fired back, glaring up at her brother.

"Well…" Jensen scrambled, searching his mind for something to pin on his sister. He was _so_ not going to be the only one going down for all of this. He couldn't think of anything really substantial except for one thing. And he internally apologized to his best friend, knowing it would throw him into the line of fire as well. "Sky's got a thing for Cougar!"

Sky whipped around to stare at her brother while Cougar's eyes widened slightly and a small smile crept across his face. Lee, however, didn't look nearly as content. "Jake!" She hissed his way, but he kept going.

"She's totally looking for some Spanish _amor!_ She even told me so!"

"You liar!" Sky shouted at him, turning away from the others so she was facing off with her brother, poking an accusing finger his way. _"You_ were the one who said that three _years_ ago when I was messing with you saying you should set me up with someone from your team because I've been you wing-woman for so long! Should I bring up the fact that you referred to Clay as having 'psycho sex powers' because all his girlfriends ended up crazy?" Jensen paled at that one and looked back over his shoulder to see that his CO did _not _look amused. Aisha, however, did. "Or maybe that you called Roque 'the soul-eater'?" Jensen didn't even _want_ to turn around to see the expression Roque was making. "Besides, _you_ were the one throwing me together with Cougar whenever possible!"

"Oh admit it, you loved it!" Jensen retorted, not really having much other grounds to argue on.

Sky's cheeks colored slightly. "That's beside the point!"

"You ended up making out with Cougar in an alley!"

"Wait really?" Aisha asked in surprise, looking towards the grinning sniper. Cougar didn't bother to answer, but kept his eyes on the arguing siblings in front of him.

"An alley?" Tool asked with an amused grin on his face. "Baby-Face, I know I'm not the classiest, but even _I_ wouldn't do that."

"It was necessary!" Sky shouted back in response before noticing the dangerous look on her father's face. She immediately turned his way and started rapidly explaining as if her life depended on it, because, in all honesty, it probably did. "I was made by Wade and I took off and Cougar was sent to cover me and we made it to an alley, but there was _no_ way we could run because I had taken too much time getting out of my disguise and public displays of affection make people uncomfortable, so it was _totally_ for survival!"

"Oh really?" Jensen asked, catching her attention again. "So was checking out Cougar's _gun _for survival?"

Sky's face exploded in a blush and her mouth spilled open in surprise and embarrassment that her brother had gone there. She whirled around to face him again and poked at his chest to emphasis her words. "I _told_ you I was _not_ checking out his crotch! I was checking out his ass and there's a difference!" Almost immediately after the statement was out of her mouth she regretted it. It was just digging herself farther into the hole she and Jensen were making. She was vaguely aware of Caesar's loud laughing and someone muttering something about a bucket of popcorn, but she was immediately aware of the eyes of a certain sniper and her father on her. She sucked in a deep breath and decided that while she was digging herself deeper she might as well keep going. "Cause you know what? He is very attractive! And I can check out whoever I want! Just like you've been checking out and flirting with Aisha even though Clay's _clearly_ marked that territory!"

Jensen tensed and glared down at his sister, not bothering to turn around to see how his CO was looking at him this time. "Okay, one, I stopped that after she shot me! And two if you want to do Aisha you've got to be wearing Kevlar or something! And what does that have to do with anything?"

_"You're_ the one who brought up me and Cougar!"

_"You're _the one who said all this was _my_ fault!"

"And _you're_ the one who was making fun of me when _I_ was the only one getting in trouble!" She fired back with a glare. "I should've just left your ass in Bolivia!"

"Alright children, that's enough," Barney cut into the argument, catching the attention of the bickering duo. He clearly looked amused and he had a handful of Swedish fish in his hand from a bag that had been passed around the group sometime while they were arguing. "You two should be nice to each other. After all, you're probably going to end up with the same punishment anyway."

At the mention of the punishment Jensen and Sky shared a horrified look before turning to their fathers still seated near the desk. Lee looked like he was just barely managing to maintain his composed expression and Gunnar looked thoroughly amused by the entire situation. "As for punishment…" Lee trailed off, looking at both of the kids standing in front of them. "As soon as your gunshot wounds are all healed up you two will run the Gauntlet."

"Aw man, the Gauntlet?" Jensen whined, a pitiful look crossing his face.

Sky's expression mirrored her brother's. "But we haven't had to run the Gauntlet since we were kids!"

"Well you two are acting like children so it seems to fit," Lee replied to his daughter.

Jensen and Sky both blushed in embarrassment before the blonde sighed. "Which levels?"

Gunnar smirked. "All three."

"All three? That's not even fair!"

"And until you two run the Gauntlet you both are grounded," the Sweden continued, pushing himself to his feet just as Lee did on his other side. Clay was chuckling, Cougar bit his lip so he didn't smile, while Roque and Aisha were letting their smiles of amusement show at the sight. "That means no TV, no phones, no computers, no tablets," he listed off, looking pointedly as his son who looked more and more horrified at each item he listed.

Lee took over, looking at his daughter. "No guns, no knives, no car, no leaving unless supervised, and you have to complete all the chores and tasks we give you. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the two grumbled out reluctantly.

"Good, now turn over all your toys," Lee ordered, looking towards the two kids. When neither of them made a move to remove any of their weapons or gadgets he narrowed his eyes. "Do not make us search you in front of your friends."

Almost immediately the two started removing weapons and phones, grumbling the entire time. Jensen pulled out his PDA, his cell phone, his two handguns, and his boot knife before handing them over to his father. He pulled the comms off of his neck and out of his ear and handed them over too before he held his arms up. "That's all I've got. Everything else is in my bag." His dad gave him a skeptical look and turned his son around before giving him a pat down. "Aw c'mon dad! This isn't necessary! I gave you everything—" Jensen stopped arguing the second his father found his last knife tucked in his pants. Gunnar pulled it out and held it in front of his son's face with a raised eyebrow. Jensen grinned sheepishly. "Huh… now how did that get there?"

While Gunnar continued searching his son, Lee watched as Sky hopped up and down on one foot as she tried to untie the laces of her boots with one hand. Once she got both undone, she pulled off her socks with the boots and pushed them closer to him with her toes. After that she pulled her Beretta out from her waistband and placed it on the ground before pulling off the knife pouch—the one she had reattached the second she realized she didn't have any weapons on her when she woke up on the Triton—and tossed into the growing pile on the floor. She pulled out two remaining knives she had hidden in her sling and tossed it onto the floor. "There," she sighed before pulling out her two phones and handing it to her father.

"Sky, we said all your weapons," Lee reminded her.

"That is all my weapons. The rest are in my duffel."

"All of the weapons," her father repeated again in a no nonsense tone.

Sky flailed her good arm dramatically. "That's all I have on me!"

"Skylar Christmas, do not make me strip search you."

"I bet Cougar wouldn't mind," Jensen piped up, earning a kick in the ass from his sister.

Sky glared at the still grinning blonde before she sighed dramatically and looked back to her father. She could tell he was completely serious and he wouldn't hesitate to carry through with his threat regardless of who was present in the room. So instead she gestured to her sling and jacket. "Help me get these off." Lee moved forward and helped her get the two items off—apologizing when he heard her hiss in pain. Once the jacket was off she ignored the stares she was getting because of the bruises on her ribs and instead reached into the back part of her sports bra and pulled out a small sheathed knife. After she got that knife off she reached into her sweatpants and unclipped one of the knife holsters she had attached around her thigh and pulled it out through the top of her pants.

"Do we even want to know where that came from?" Tool asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Attached to my thigh, Tool," she retorted with an eye roll before handing it to her father and reaching for the second thigh holster she had on the other leg and doing the same. She then bent down, taking care to keep her arm tucked against her side before she reached down for the holsters she had strapped against her calf underneath the pants leg. She pulled it off and handed it to her father before taking out the one from her left leg. Once she handed it over she held her one good arm up in the air. "That's all I've got on me."

"Good," Barney said before standing up and gesturing towards the Losers. "You all can stay here with us for as long as you need to. Caesar and Toll can show you to the guest bedrooms and get you settled in. We're just going to look over Jake and Sky's injuries and have a little chat with them." Jensen and Sky looked like deer caught in headlights and they turned to the others with pleading looks on their faces, almost begging them not to go. Clay, however, was quick to jump to his feet—with Aisha and Roque following closely after—and moved towards Caesar and Toll who were already heading towards the door.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality. Try not to get to sleep too late, Jensen," he smirked at the comms tech. Jensen whimpered. Cougar, however, took his time getting up, sending a look towards Jensen and Sky that showed he wasn't entirely happy with leaving them alone. But he had no choice in the matter. They were their family. So he looked around the group of mercenaries and tipped his hat.

_"Buenas noches."_

_"Buenas noches, _Cougar," Sky replied out of habit, earning a smile from the sniper and looks from her family. The last thing Cougar saw as he walked out was Sky closing her eyes and exhaling loudly while Jensen was grinning and laughing beside her. He quickly caught up with Clay, Aisha, Roque, Caesar, and Toll and followed the group up into the lift and onto the second floor where there was a hallway full of doors a few feet away from one another.

"Knowing Gunnar and Lee, their kids are going to be spending the night with them, so Aisha you can take Sky's room and one of you boys can take Jake's room," Toll explained, gesturing to the two doors with the names of the two kids spray painted on the front in blocky black military letters. "There are three doors at the end of the hall that are all empty rooms, so the two of you that are left can pick one of those."

"So… what's going to happen to the two of them downstairs?" Aisha asked curiously as she moved towards Sky's door.

Caesar grinned maliciously. "Those two are going to get a lecture to end all lectures."


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for taking so long with the updates. I had everything up to the Losers/Expendables meeting planned out in my head, but everything past it is really making it up as I go along and going with the flow of the story. But I do have certain key things that I know I want to happen so I'm working them all in as I go. Anyway, I'm still undecided as to what I want to be the plot for the A-Team/Loser/Expendable crossover, but I've got a few ideas to toy around with that may work, but it's still in the planning stage for now! And the one-shot series is going to be going up sometime this week God-willing! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 7th, 2013_

Sky was trying to make herself look as small as possible even as Tool poked and prodded at her injury. She had her sparring mouth guard on to bite down whenever she was in pain—which was most of the time that Tool was checking over her shoulder—and she was squeezing her father's hand for all she was worth. The group was back in the tattoo portion of the shop looking over the wounds of their two youngest. Jensen had been checked out and cleared by the tattoo artist and it was her turn to get cleared. Another wave of agonizing pain shot through her, making the room spin, but she bit down hard on the mouth guard and squeezed her father's hand tighter to orient herself and try to fight off the pain.

"Sorry Baby-Face," he apologized, finishing his check of the entry wound before looking towards the exit wound. "Nasty looking shot you took here, kiddo, but the stitches look good and the wounds are clean. We're gonna have to break out your sling again to keep your arm stabilized while it heals. And you're gonna have a badass looking scar, but you're good. Your little friend did a good job."

"Thanks," Sky mumbled through her mouth guard before popping it out and handing it over to her father as Tool started bandaging up the wounds.

In exchange for the mouth guard her father handed her back two tablets of ibuprofen and she didn't hesitate to pop them into her mouth and drink from the water bottle he handed her. "I know you're in a lot of pain right now, but no strong pain meds for you until morning. We need to get some food in your stomach before we give you anything stronger. You know how bad you get even _with_ food." Sky grimaced slightly and nodded. She knew exactly how bad she got. It wasn't something she liked feeling or even thinking about.

Once making sure she was okay and that Tool was done with the bandaging, her father moved away from her seat in the tattoo chair and instead motioned for Jensen to go stand near her. The comms tech looked reluctant to move and shuffled forward slowly before leaning on the table next to his sister's seat. The two kids shared a look of resignation before turning back to the mercenaries in front of them. They didn't say anything for a while. Only when Caesar and Toll made it back from getting the other Losers settled in did they finally start. "Have you two completely lost your minds?!" Lee demanded, his tone rising loudly and causing the two kids to wince. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?!"

When Jensen started opening his mouth, his dad glared his way. "Jacob Jensen, don't you dare respond to his rhetorical question or this'll be worse for you."

Jensen promptly shut his mouth.

"Has _any_ of the things we taught you as children seeped into your brains?!" Lee shouted again.

"What was so difficult about picking up a phone and calling one of us to make sure you two were okay?" Barney asked without a hint of amusement in his tone. "Why couldn't you two just swallow your pride and ask us for help?"

"Clay was worried we'd get tracked and—"

"Do _not_ feed us that excuse," Gunnar hissed, cutting his son off. "How long does it take to trace a call?"

"Around forty-seven seconds."

"And how long would it take to pick up the phone, say that you're alive and safe, and then hang up?"

Jensen shrunk down a bit. "Less time."

"Exactly. You _chose_ not to call us in. You made us think you were dead for four _months_ Jake! You had us so messed up that we were taking mission after mission to try and cope and we had to bench Baby-Face because she was so torn up! She went AWOL because you didn't bother to call your family and let us know you were okay!"

"Don't make excuses for Sky," Lee cut in, turning a narrowed stare to his daughter. "She knows better. She _chose_ not to call us either."

"I didn't want to give you all false hope if I was wrong," the brunette argued.

"No excuse," Yin piped up for the first time, moving forward to flick her nose. "You're not alone. Your actions hurt us too."

"You could have died in Bolivia and we would never have known," Caesar pointed out. "Then we would've lost both of you."

"And don't think that we're going to forget about you neglecting to tell us that Church sent you a get out of jail free card," Barney added on, crossing his arms over his chest and staring seriously at the young brunette who was shrinking in her chair and trying to keep her eyes down. "I know what happened in Albania was hard on you, but that's absolutely no excuse for not telling us. Church is CIA. He's a spook who's only out for his own ass. You have to remember that and you need to tell us the next time something like this happens. Understood?"

"Yes sir," she mumbled.

"And you find a way to call us no matter what and let us know you're alive," Toll ordered, glaring at his protégé.

Jensen nodded. "Yes sir."

It was silent for a few seconds as the two kids kept their heads down and tried to keep their cheeks from turning red in embarrassment before Gunnar smiled and let out a heavy sigh, reaching forward to grab the back of Jensen's neck so he could pull his son into a hug. Jensen let out a squeak of surprise while Lee moved over to his daughter's side, grabbing onto her left hand and leaning down to kiss her forehead. "But, putting all that aside, we're just happy you two are back, safe and sound," Gunnar piped up, kissing Jensen's forehead before releasing his hold slightly so he just had his arm slung around the shorter blonde's shoulders.

"Don't scare us like that again," Lee said softly, squeezing his daughter's hand lightly.

"We won't," Jensen and Sky chorused, small smiles gracing their features. Jensen gave a lopsided smile. "Next time something catastrophic goes on, you will all be the first to know."

"Good deal," Toll laughed, clasping a hand on the hacker's shoulder and giving it a shake.

"So…" Tool spoke up, pulling off his rubber gloves and tossing them into the garbage. He turned to look at the young brunette with a smirk on his face. "An _alley_?"

Immediately Sky's face exploded in a blush.

It just took a few seconds for Caesar and Toll to start laughing and taunting her. "Oh, I know the _real_ reason Baby-Face didn't call us in," Caesar grinned mischievously. "She didn't call us in because she was too busy trying to get her some."

Sky's cheeks darkened.

"And with another sniper," Toll added on, grinning just as broadly as the heavy weapons specialist. "I think it's obvious that our infiltration specialist likes the _bigger_ guns. Hey so did Cougar _infiltrate_—"

"Alright, that's enough," Lee piped up, obviously not wanting to hear anymore sexual jokes about his daughter. Sky looked absolutely mortified and was trying to make herself look as small as possible in the tattoo chair. So he decided not to hound her and instead turned to Jensen, remembering what she had said regarding the blonde throwing her and the sniper together whenever he could. "Now explain why you were tossing your sister together with Cougar."

Jensen immediately beamed. "Alright so here's my master pan. Sky and Cougar are totally compatible and totally into each other, so they're a perfect couple! And they're both total badasses, so it's even more perfect. And if they ever got married—"

"That's a big _if_," Lee cut in with a narrowed stare.

"—then I'd have my best friend as my brother-in-law, there'd be no awkward time period, they'd both _have_ to take my side on arguments whenever they're not the ones arguing with me, and it'll be convenient to visit them. It's really a win-win for everyone," Jensen continued on with a broad smile on his face. "It's perfect!"

"Your logic makes no sense," Yin pointed out.

"It so does!" Jensen whined. "Don't try and ruin Skougar for me. They're my OTP."

"What the hell is a Skougar?" Toll asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And what is an OTP?" Gunnar asked, looking to his son as if he grew a second head.

"Nothing!"

Barney eyed the younger blonde before shaking his head and chuckling lightly. "Sometimes I wonder who's crazier, you or your father."

"Probably me," both of the blondes said in unison before sharing a smile.

"I don't like him," Lee muttered darkly, glaring out towards the lift as if the sniper was right there.

"I don't know, I kinda like him," Caesar grinned.

Toll nodded. "He seems like a good kid."

"We don't know much about him," Barney put in, skeptical of the new sniper who seemed to take a liking to his Goddaughter.

"Barney's got a point," Gunnar agreed.

Lee nodded vigorously. "We don't know his real name, age, birthday, place of birth, social security number, criminal record, psychological profile—"

"Combat skills," Yin supplied.

"—combat skills, banking information, list of former partners…" the knife thrower trailed off.

"Oh, is _that_ all?" Sky asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes at her father. "Why don't you just interrogate him?" The excited looks that Lee, Barney, Gunnar, and Yin gave her made her roll her eyes again. "I was kidding!"

"Then how do you propose we find out about him?" Lee challenged.

"Oh, I've got this!" Jensen piped up with an excited grin. "I can totally answer any questions you have on Cougar! I'm like an expert by now."

"Good," Lee said before moving away from Sky and towards the front desk. He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a worn out notebook that had the words 'Potential Threats' written on the front in black blocky letters. He grabbed a pen before walking back over to the group and taking the seat just beside her, looking as if he was about to take notes.

"Seriously? This is ridiculous," Sky muttered and shook her head. "You never did this with Billy." The looks she was receiving from all the men in the room made her second guess herself. "Wait, you didn't right?" Instead of answering the men either cleared their throats or shifted on their feet. Sky's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to question them further, but her father beat her to it.

"Jake whenever you're ready."

"Ready," Jensen piped up, moving to stand behind his sister's chair with Gunnar moving to take the seat next to Sky's seat so he was by his son.

"Full name and rank."

"Sgt. Carlos Alvarez."

"Why the nickname 'Cougar'?"

"Um… you know I still don't know why he went with Cougar. When I first got on the team I knew him by Cougar. You'd have to ask him about that one," Jensen replied as the knife thrower scribbled notes down in the book while the other Expendables—Sky included—listened intently to the information being rattled off about the sniper.

"Age?"

"He's turning twenty-six in a couple weeks."

"Twenty-six?" Tool echoed in surprise.

"That's four years older than you," Yin pointed out immediately.

"Four years isn't a big difference," Sky argued with a half shrug. Her comment prompted her father to look up at her before making another note in the book. Before she could ask what he wrote down he quickly started asking questions again.

"Date of birth?"

"October 28th."

"Place of birth?"

"Arizona."

"Wait, I thought he was from Spain?" Sky asked curiously.

Jensen shook his head. "His parents were born and raised in Spain. They moved over here just before he was born."

Lee cleared his throat to catch the attention of the two kids again. Once they were looking his way he zeroed in on the blonde. "Relatives?"

"Not really sure aside from the mom and dad. He doesn't really talk about his family much. He's pretty private about his life."

"Huh… we'll have to look up his background," Gunnar spoke up.

Sky frowned. "Since when do you do that?" It was the subtle shift of his eyes up to her brother that caused realization to hit. She spun around in her chair and stared at her brother who was purposely avoiding her gaze. "Jake! Have you being doing background checks for them?"

"I only did it for Billy… and all the other guys you talked to."

"Guys I _talk_ to?!" She repeated in shock before looking back towards the other guys, who suddenly found the floors and ceilings very interesting to look at. "You guys creeped on guys I _talked_ to?! Where's the trust in that?"

"We trust you, Baby-Face," Barney assured. "We just didn't trust them. We know how guys think so we took necessary precautions."

Sky geared up for an argument before she started to think about it. In all honesty she really shouldn't have been surprised. She was the only girl raised in a house full of male mercenaries for her entire life. Caesar didn't get married to Jenny until a year after he first joined up with the Expendables, so the only female other than her came in when she was around seventeen. And it was only then that Jenny managed to get them to relax their rules and treat her more like a girl. She was lucky she had been allowed to date at all. "Well, I guess I should just be grateful you guys didn't stalk me whenever I was on dates at least." At the guilty and shifty looks she received her mouth spilled open. "You _stalked_—"

"Moving on," her father cut into her statement, clearing his throat and looking down into his notebook. "Jake, I expect a standard write-up about Cougar."

Sky looked at the men as if they were aliens. "There's a _write-up?!"_

"Um… I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing that," Jensen muttered, ignoring his sister's small outburst. "Cougs is my best friend. Whatever he tells me, he tells me because he trusts me. I don't wanna betray that."

"Good on you kid," Toll smiled at the hacker.

Lee scribbled down more notes before nodding. "I respect that. And I take it that means you won't be giving any banking, criminal, psychological, or social security information. So an interrogation is definitely in order." Normally, Sky would've started arguing with her father, trying to sway him out of attempting an interrogation with the sniper, but the pain in her shoulder was flaring up—the ibuprofen doing little to dull the pain—and taking over her senses. So instead she just shared a worried look with Jensen at the slightly malicious tone her father had adopted when discussing interrogations. "But, one more question. How many women has he been with since you've known him?"

Almost immediately Jensen looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Um…" Jensen trailed off, desperately trying to come up with an answer that didn't complete set his friend up to be killed. Saying Cougar was a ladies man was an understatement. Women just threw themselves at him and even some men took a swing his way once in a blue moon. So women were never really in short supply. That wasn't to say that Cougar was a player or a man whore. His one-night stands weren't nearly as frequent as Clay's or Roque's and he always treated each woman respectfully and with care. But he was pretty sure that the Expendables weren't going to see it that way. "Not _too_ many…"

"How many?" Lee repeated with a raised eyebrow as all the men adopted serious looks. Sky looked curiously up at him, making him even more nervous.

"Er… I'd rather not say."

Lee immediately began scribbling down notes while Yin shook his head and started muttering under his breath, moving behind the knife thrower to start pointing to certain portions in the notebook. Soon enough Barney and Gunnar both joined the two pouring over the book while Caesar and Toll started telling them not to start freaking out, all of the mercenaries ignoring the two kids who were looking at them argue. After Barney told Yin that he'd need to get 'the stuff', Sky shared a look with her brother before frowning. "Seriously, how many times have they done this?"

"You _really_ don't want to know," Jensen replied with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Well, they're going to be at it for a good while," Tool piped up with a smirk on his face, gesturing for the two kids as he started heading towards the lift. "C'mon kiddos, let's get you two settled in for the night. You both look exhausted."

"We are," the blonde spoke up for him and his sister as he helped her off the chair and over to the tattoo artist who was waiting for them to go up to the second floor. None of the others even noticed their departure. They were too busy debating whether or not nterrogation via food and sleep deprivation was excessive. Jensen winced slightly, hoping they weren't actually serious about interrogating Cougar.

"Whenever I'm not in pain and can think without feeling so tired I'm going to ask about this again," the brunette assured as Tool flipped the switch so they started going up.

"I'm sure you will, but for right now, let's just get you to bed," Tool replied as they made it up to the second floor. They walked past their individual rooms—since they knew that Aisha and Clay had gotten their bedrooms—and started heading towards their parents rooms. "No sling tonight, Baby-Face. But if you want I can get some of your PJ's and help you change."

"I'm good in this, thanks Tool."

"Same here," Jensen assured with a loud yawn, gesturing to his jeans, boots, and t-shirt. "I'm just gonna strip down and sleep for at least a week straight."

"Well, you two deserve a rest," Tool smiled as they made it to Gunnar's room. Keeping true to his promise, Jensen walked in and immediately started stripping off his clothes, not even pausing long enough to shut the door. Sky rolled her eyes while Tool reached forward to shut the door for the blonde. Shaking his head, he ushered Sky two doors down to where Lee's room was. "Kid's got no shame. You know I remember when he used to run around naked anytime he forgot his clothes or a towel."

"Yeah, so do I," Sky laughed lightly as Tool opened the door for her and ushered her in.

"You need any help with anything?" The tattoo artist asked even as he walked forward and started turning down the bed sheets for her.

"I just need help taking out my contacts," she piped up reluctantly. She loved the support of her family, but she hated when she couldn't do things herself.

"Alright Baby-Face, stay put and I'll go get your cases from your duffel." With that the tattoo-artist walked out.

With Tool gone, Sky let out a groan of pain and hugged her arm closer to her torso. Now that she was home and safe there wasn't anything to occupy her mind. She didn't have men shooting at her. She didn't have to plan any rescue missions. And she didn't have to worry about how her family would react to everything since they already knew. So she had nothing to distract her from the pain. With each beat of her heart she could feel pain radiating from her shoulder. And with even the slightest movement of her neck or arm it shot dizzying pain through her system.

It was starting to become overwhelming and a wave of nausea and lightheadedness overtook her each time there was just small movement. She tried to maintain a brave face in front of the others, because shot or not she was an Expendable. She was a member of one of the best mercenary teams around. She was the _Baby-Face Assassin_. She'd be damned before she started crying and whining about her pain. She'd just keep her emotions in check, put on a brave face, and then she'd lick her wounds when she was alone. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Another wave of pain shot through her and she had to grab onto the mattress with her left arm to stop the room from spinning. She felt her stomach turn and she had to bite down on her lip to prevent heaving. She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself before she heard heavy footfalls in the hall.

Quickly she composed herself and opened her eyes just before Tool walked in carrying her glasses and contact cases in one hand with a damp balled up paper towel in the other. "I've got your glasses, but I'm just going to leave them on the bedside table," he said as he put the cases down. He started opening up the contact case before turning to face her with a smile. "Alright, I washed my hands, so let's get these lenses out of those gorgeous eyes of yours."

Sky smiled slightly and tilted her head up—trying not to visibly react to the excruciating pain the movement caused. She looked up at the tattoo artist who moved closer and started pulling open her left eye carefully. As she looked at him, completely focused on his task she couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt fill her again. Ever since she got back Tool had been taking care of her and catering to her, making sure she was okay. He had immediately forgiven her for not calling and letting him know where she was. He had checked out her shoulder without hesitation. And here he was, helping her get into bed and taking out her contacts for her without any complaints.

He managed to get her contact out of her left eye and placed it in her case while she closed her eye and looked up at him with her right eye. "I'm so sorry Tool."

"For what kiddo?" He asked, capping the left eye case before turning back around to her.

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't call you. I'm sorry I made you so worried. I'm so sorry I didn't consider how much I was hurting you."

Tool paused in the middle of opening her right eye further and pulled back to look at her. He stared at her for a few seconds before letting a large smile form on his face. He leaned forward to pull out her contact and place it in the case—making everything look fuzzy to the brunette—before he turned back around, grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "It's alright Sky. I forgive you. You did what you had to and brought Jake back. I was worried and upset at first, but you two are back here safe and sound. That's all that matters. I'm proud of you."

Sky beamed up at him and nodded—pushing the pain out of her mind. "Thanks Tool."

"Anytime kiddo," he assured before motioning to the bed. "I'll let Lee know not to wake you when he gets in here. Do you need any help lying down?"

"No, I've got it, thanks Tool. I appreciate it," she smiled.

"Alright, get some sleep. You'll have chores for the next couple weeks until you run the Gauntlet, and I'm going to make full use of you and Jake in the shop." Sky groaned dramatically and Tool laughed before he kissed her cheek again and walked towards the door. "Goodnight Baby-Face. Love you."

"Love you too," she replied with a smile.

Tool walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Sky alone in the room. She exhaled shakily, trying to keep her composure again. She sucked in quick breaths and swung her legs up so they were on the bed. She hissed at the slight pain she felt, but it wasn't anything too major. But trying to lie down was a different story. Every time she tried to lower herself down slowly, she had to hunch her shoulders slightly, which was a _big_ no-no. After several attempts at the same strategy she realized it wasn't going to happen. So instead she just flopped down. It still shot a large wave of pain through her—and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out—but it wasn't nearly as bad as the pulling of stitches and torn muscle that occurred each time she tried a slower approach.

After a few seconds she got comfortable and her exhaustion hit her full force. The bed and pillow were so comfortable and her eyes started stinging and closing slowly. She smiled slightly as she looked up at the ceiling. She was in a real bed. She and the others were safe. And she and Jake were home. With that thought in her mind, Sky let her eyes close and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_"Sky, please! Please don't let me die!"_

Sky's eyes flew open. She scanned her surroundings as her adrenaline coursed through her body and her heart pounded in her chest. She felt something warm against her back and she tensed, prepared to fight before she finally noticed where she was. She was in her father's room. And he must've come in sometime while she was sleeping and gotten into bed beside her. She looked over her shoulder and saw her father sleeping peacefully for a split second before white hot pain filled her senses. She felt her stomach turn and she couldn't even think right. Without hesitation she shot up from bed and started walking for the door on unsteady legs, not wanting to throw up on the floor if it came to that. "What's wrong?"

Sky turned back—this time turning her entire torso and not just her neck to prevent any more pain—and saw that her father was now awake and rubbing at his eyes as he looked towards her. That was something she was going to have to get used to again. While Jake could sleep through her nightmares and her frequent departures from rooms, the Expendables weren't like that at all. They were _all_ light sleepers—even Gunnar despite his loud snoring. If someone were sneaking up on them, or sneaking out, they'd be up and aware of it in seconds.

The young brunette forced a small smile on her face despite the way the room was still swaying slightly. "I had to pee."

"Do you want me to—"

"I think I can handle that," Sky cut him off with a pointed look, opening up the door and disappearing into the hallway before he had time to argue. She quickly walked down to the hall and stood outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall and trying to get control of her breathing and her composure. That was one of the things she hated about sharing a room with one of the other guys. Her room was the only one with a bathroom directly attached to it since she was the only girl. It was for her privacy and she loved it. But whenever she stayed in one of the other rooms, she'd be forced to use the hallway bathroom. And with her a few seconds away from hugging the bowl and emptying whatever was in her stomach, she'd rather have privacy so the other Expendables didn't hear and swarm her.

Sky sucked in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, repeating her actions a few times before she managed to feel a bit better. Once all threats of throwing up were gone she sighed in relief and decided to get a bottle of water. Just as she was about to turn and walk down the hall she noticed an open doorway. Her heart jumped a bit realizing that it was Billy's old room. It took her a second to calm herself before she walked towards the open doorway. She poked her head in and her heart jolted again upon spotting Cougar lying out on the bed, dressed only in a pair of sweatpants and his hat covering his face. His arms were crossed over his muscled torso and his chest was rising and falling rhythmically, looking at ease. She watched him for a few seconds, a small smile on her face before she decided to head downstairs to get water. She reached into the room and grabbed the doorknob to close it for the sniper, but the door made a creaking noise.

Sky winced and stopped pulling the door forward, hoping she didn't end up waking the sniper. She let go of the door and turned slowly and carefully—trying not to move her neck or shoulder at all—to look back at the Spaniard. She jumped slightly at the fact that Cougar was wide awake, sitting up on the bed and looking at her from underneath the brim of his hat, a small smile tugging at his lips. She grinned sheepishly and walked farther into the room so she could see him better. "Sorry for waking you. I was just going to close the door so you could get some rest."

_"Necesitas descansar tambien,"_ he said softly, before gesturing to her bandaged shoulder. "How's your arm?"

Agonizingly painful, mind-numbing, and unbearable were all words that popped into her head, but she managed to filter her thoughts before she actually showed how much pain she was really in. So instead she just smiled as reassuringly as possible. "It's not too bad." The sniper didn't look convinced so she kept talking before he could try to call her out on her lie. "I'm sorry about what my dad said earlier. You know, about your name and all. He didn't mean it, he gets like that with anyone I—"

"Find attractive?" Cougar cut in with a devilish smirk on his face.

Almost immediately she felt her face heat up and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling in embarrassment. She made a mental note to kill Jensen whenever she had full use of her right arm. "Yeah, that's a way to put it."

The Spaniard pushed himself off the bed and walked over to her, stopping when he was right in front of her, just a foot of space between them. Sky's heart skipped a beat immediately and looked up into the dark eyes of the sniper, trying not to focus on the warmth radiating from his body and the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "What Jensen said… _era verdad?"_

Sky's cheeks got a bit darker as she thought about everything that Jensen had blurted out in front of everyone. Everything he said had been true for the most part. She tilted her head down slightly in embarrassment, breaking eye contact before fingers grasped at her chin. Cougar tilted her head back up gently so her eyes were back on his and she felt her heart pounding in her chest at the intensity of his gaze. He just stared back at her with his dark brown eyes, patiently waiting for her answer. She bit her lip lightly. "What Jake said… it was all true."

Cougar's lips curved up into a smile and he stepped closer, well within her personal space so that they were nearly chest to chest. He moved his hand from her chin to cup her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbones delicately. "And the Spanish _amor?"_ He questioned in a teasing tone.

Despite the obvious jest in his question, she could safely say hearing Cougar say _'amor' _in his thick accented voice did things to Sky that it really shouldn't have.

"That too," she replied with a small smile. His smile was beautiful and dazzling as he looked down at her and she couldn't help but think about how much she'd love to see him wear that expression on his face more often. "What about you? Where do you stand on this whole thing?" She asked.

Instead of answering with words, Cougar leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Her heart started beating faster and harder in her chest. Just as she was about to deepen the kiss he pulled back and looked at her with a smirk. "I stand with you."

"Ahem."

Sky whipped around to look at the door—immediately regretting her actions as overwhelming pain filled her senses and she swayed slightly. Cougar's hand on her cheek disappeared and instead was wrapped around her waist to steady her slightly and even through the haze in her mind she could see the sniper tossing her a look that meant he knew she was in a lot of pain. She gave him a sheepish look before turning towards the doorway. It took a few seconds of blinking and straining her eyes before she made out the shape of her father standing in the doorway, twirling a knife in his hand. The blood drained from her face and she had a huge urge to jump away from the Spaniard beside her. But since he was still keeping her upright—and since his grip had tightened—she couldn't move.

"Dad, what are you doing up?" Sky asked cutting into the thick tension that had fallen around them.

"I wanted to make sure you got to the bathroom okay. But apparently you've been gone too long, because you don't seem to remember where the bathroom is anymore."

It didn't take a genius to see what the knife thrower was insinuating.

"Um… I was just—"

"Going back to bed," Lee cut in without any room for arguments. "Now."

Sky winced and nodded, starting to move forward before Cougar's arm tightened around her. She was about to question him before he pulled her closer and leaned down to press a kiss onto her lips. Sky's heart stopped for the briefest of seconds at the feel of the sniper's lips on hers and at the fact that Cougar was kissing her in front of her father. He pulled back after a few seconds and smirked down at her, tossing her a wink before he let go of her waist. Part of her wanted to yell at Cougar for challenging her father like that—because he would _not_ hesitate to harm the sniper. But part of her found the fact that he was purposely messing with her father extremely sexy.

Deciding that for now she should probably do what her dad wanted to make sure the sniper stayed in one piece she smiled slightly in Cougar's direction before walking out of the room. As soon as she got closer to her dad he grabbed her left arm and started pulling her down the hall towards his room. She had the presence of mind to be completely silent as they made it into the room. When Lee closed the door behind him he stabbed the knife into the wall beside the door and worked the muscles in his jaw. After about a minute of silence he looked to his daughter. "Your little friend is going to get himself killed."

"Please no murdering. I actually like him."

"I can't guarantee anything. Now go to sleep. And no more late night visits to anyone that isn't an Expendable or your brother. Got it?"

"Yes sir."


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Aw man, school is kicking my _ass. _I was really hoping I'd get this chapter out earlier, but I've been so swamped lately with assignments and exams (I've got an exam, a midterm, and the start of a speech all tomorrow). I'm sorry for it taking such a long time and thank you all for being so patient and just generally awesome! Like I said before the next few chapters are interactions between the Losers and the Expendables, before anything substantial really happens, so I hope I won't bore you guys! I'm really doing this to try and iron out the little details regarding the Losers team and their fragile dynamic with Roque still alive. Also, the one-shot story has been posted! It's called 'Growing Pains' and the next chapter will be posted either tomorrow or Wednesday! I hope you guys enjoy it! And I hope you guys like this chapter!

Disclaimer:I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 7th, 2013_

The heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee was what woke Roque up that morning. He tensed as he looked around the room for a second before he realized where he was. Evening out his breathing he just stayed on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He had gotten more sleep than he had in a while and he was more relaxed. But he knew in the back of his mind that the second he walked out the door and saw Clay and the others his relaxed feeling was going to go straight out the window. But the coffee was just too tempting. So with a sigh he pushed himself up from his bed and shuffled over to the door and out into the hallway. It took him a few seconds to remember which way led to the lift before he walked off and climbed into the elevator to head downstairs.

Almost immediately after he stepped out of the lift he spotted Aisha and Clay sitting in the chairs of the tattoo shop talking to each other in hushed whispers. It only took a few seconds for them to look his way and glare maliciously and Roque returned the gesture. If they tried to start something before he had coffee he couldn't be held responsible for his actions. "If there are any death threats before breakfast I'm handcuffing you all in different rooms and leaving you there," Barney muttered as he walked into the room from the garage, immediately noticing the tension in the room.

Toll, Yin, and Gunnar all walked in behind their leader, the three men looking tired and grumbling about something. The four men each took seats around the room before Roque noticed Cougar for the first time, sitting just on his right, his leg kicked up on a chair in front of him and his hat tilted low on his eyes. Even though his eyes were shadowed, the demolitions expert was sure that the sniper was glaring his way too. "So, today we're going to deal with this bullshit you all have," Barney piped up tiredly as he sat in one of the tattoo chairs. "Cause if you kids are going to be staying here we don't want to have to babysit to make sure no one dies."

"What do you mean by 'deal with'?" Clay asked skeptically, his body tense as he looked around at his team.

"Therapy," Yin piped up from his spot against the wall.

Aisha forced a laugh. "Therapy? You think therapy is going to help them?"

"As much as I hate to agree, Aisha's got a point," Roque agreed, tossing a scathing look to the Bolivian. She just glared in his direction.

"You'd be surprised," Gunnar chuckled.

"You see Toll Road here has a bit of experience with therapy and since you boys are technically dead, you can't see an actual therapist. So he's generously agreed to help mediate," the Italian grinned.

Toll snorted and glared. "You _told_ me I had to."

Barney continued on as if the demolitions specialist hadn't said anything. "And we're sure he'll be able to help."

Toll started grumbling under his breath again before they heard footsteps on the stairs. The group all turned to see Lee walking into the room, a cell phone clutched in his right hand. He looked up to the group, about to say something before his eyes landed on the sniper and his gaze turned deadly. Cougar tilted his hat up in response and smirked slightly at the knife thrower and Roque internally wondered what the hell happened between the two men. Before he could question what was going on, Lee looked over to Barney and gestured with the phone. "Lacy called and said she was coming over with Jenny and the girls. They want to see Jake and Sky."

"You told them?" Barney asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Lacy called and I told her. She called Jenny and filled her in. Haley and Celia still have no idea so it's going to be a surprise for them."

"I'll go fill Caesar in," Toll muttered, getting to his feet and walking out of the room.

"Where's Jake?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow, moving to join his team while nodding in acknowledgment to the Losers.

"Snoring away upstairs," Gunnar said with a smile on his face and an eye roll. "I'm gonna get him up after breakfast is done. What about Baby-Face?"

"The same," the knife thrower said rolling his neck. "She's putting on a front again."

"How do you know?" Yin questioned.

Lee looked over to Cougar and glared again, this time not prying his eyes away from the sniper as he spoke. "Last night she got up and said she was going to the bathroom. She didn't quite make it there. She didn't look too good."

Barney nodded wordlessly while Yin and Gunnar got serious looks on their faces. To Roque it was pretty obvious that Sky 'putting on a front' was a usual occurrence to the Expendables. Before anyone could say or ask something else on the topic, Caesar walked out wearing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron—and no matter how tempted he was to point out how unmanly it was, Roque did have all of his self-preservation instincts intact—and shouted at them that breakfast was ready. The group all started moving towards the kitchen, Clay, Aisha, and Cougar sticking close together and away from Roque and the demolitions expert didn't even bother to hide his annoyance. If they made it through breakfast without killing each other it would be a miracle.

* * *

_Crash!_

Sky's eyes popped open at the loud sound of glass shattering and shouting that accompanied it. Almost immediately her adrenaline was going and she shot up from bed and onto her feet. She swayed unsteadily before she oriented herself and took off into the hall. She practically plowed into Jensen who was running down the hall and passing her room just as she was running out the doorway. They both paused to make sure they didn't actually run into each other—and that they both weren't the ones who were hurt—before they sprinted towards the stairs, forgoing the lift. As they went down the stairs the sounds of shouting and arguing got louder and louder. After making it into the shop and seeing no one they ran into the next room and saw that they source of the noise was coming from the kitchen.

Gunnar had Roque in a chokehold and was dragging him away from the table where there was a shattered cup and spilt orange juice, while Barney was holding down Clay against the counter. Aisha was being corralled by Toll while Yin and Lee were holding back Cougar. Caesar just sat calmly at the table with Tool, the heavy weapons specialist sipping at his coffee while Tool was reading the paper both acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Clay and Roque were hurling insults and threats at one another while Aisha was shouting at Toll to let go of her, and Cougar was shouting in Spanish. All the words were lost on the two arrivals, their minds a jumbled mess from being woken from sleep so suddenly and violently. "What happened?" Jensen managed to mumble out, causing all the occupants of the room to stop and stare at the doorway.

"This bitch threw her fucking orange juice at me!" Roque shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Aisha who was glaring maliciously at him.

"_You _called me a two dollar whore!"

"That's what you _are!"_

Aisha looked like she was gearing up to throw something again—though the only thing within arms-reach was a towel since the demolitions expert had her effectively cornered—before Caesar looked up from the commotion and smiled. "Jake where are you pants?" The hacker looked down and frowned spotting only his Star Wars boxers on. He _knew_ he had forgotten something before running downstairs. Caesar looked like he was about to say something else before his eyes widened. "Shit, you two are bleeding." All eyes turned their way while Jensen and Sky shared a confused look before looking at their injuries. There was a small blood stain starting to grow on Jensen's arm bandage while Sky's was already a rather large stain. Sky looked at her shoulder with a detached sort of fascination. Her mind hadn't caught up with the pain she should've been feeling, but she felt hazy and unsteady on her feet like she needed to sit down.

Obviously her brother felt the same way because before she could realize what was happening he had plopped himself on the ground with his legs folded up while he was holding his head in his hands. Sky reached down to grab his shoulder and ask him if he was okay before the unsteadiness grew worse and worse and she grabbed her forehead with her left hand, feeling as if she were on a tilt-a-whirl. "Got up too fast…" she managed to mumble before she started tumbling back. Arms were there to catch her before she crashed, but it still didn't steady her mind.

"Alright let's get you two patched up," her father's voice sounded just by her ear. She was vaguely aware of being lifted up and she could hear Jensen muttering something beside her before they were moving.

"Kids woke up with way too much adrenaline," Barney muttered gruffly as he watched the knife thrower carry off his daughter while Gunnar helped Jensen up and followed behind them. Tool tossed his paper onto the table and followed the four out, muttering about crazy kids running around. As soon as they were gone, Barney used all his force to shove Clay back roughly—practically throwing him into the counter with a loud bang. He glared at the man before turning to look at a slightly calmer looking Roque, and irritated Aisha, and Cougar who kept looking to the doorway as if he wanted to rush off to find Jensen and Sky. "Good news," he growled at them. "You all get to start your therapy session right now."

* * *

"Feeling better?"

Jensen looked up briefly to see a glass of orange juice being held out to him. He gratefully accepted the drink and pulled his mouth guard out to start sipping at it. His mind was a bit clearer and his headache was slowly starting to dissipate. And his adrenaline was worn off, meaning he felt every stinging sensation of getting his popped stitches fixed up. Arguably it wasn't nearly as bad as Sky's stitches were going—judging by the way she was practically killing the armrest and biting down on the mouth guard in her mouth—but still it wasn't fun. The orange juice his dad just handed him helped chase the last of the fogginess away before he turned to look at his dad who had taken the tattoo chair just beside his. "Yeah, I feel better."

"What about you, Sky?" Lee asked from his spot stitching Jensen's arm since Sky's popped stitches were more severe, requiring Tool's attention.

"I'm getting there," she mumbled through the mouth guard before she pulled it out to start sipping at the glass that Gunnar had brought her.

"Why were we so out of it?" Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow, taking another gulp of juice before placing the guard back in.

"You kiddos got up way too fast," Tool spoke up, putting another stitch into Sky's wound. "The commotion woke you guys up and kicked you into fight or flight. You went from a resting heart rate to a mile a minute, so you didn't feel the stitches pop as you exerted yourself. It spiraled from there."

"Speaking of commotion," Gunnar piped up, looking to his son. "You've got some issues on your team."

Jensen forced a laugh and nodded just before Lee finished up stitching his arm and started bandaging it. Knowing he wouldn't be pricked with the needle again he pulled his mouth guard out again and hooked it around his ear so he wouldn't have to worry about it. "Yeah I know. We've had issues _before_ all this happened."

The joke got the others laughing before Lee smirked. "You know that Barney is going to be on their ass right?"

"Yeah, I kinda figured," the blonde nodded.

Tool laughed and finished up Sky's stitches. "Then let's get you kids some food before they kill your friends. And Jake, get some pants."

* * *

Toll Road had gone to many therapy sessions over his career as a military man and as a mercenary. Years or killing and being shot at had taken its toll—no pun intended—on him and it was foolish to think he'd get out unscathed. After a pretty large blow-up on the others—Sky and Jake included—Barney had suggested he'd seek therapy. And after pushing and prodding he finally went to see a therapist. He had been classified as having avoidant personality disorder. At first he was easily aggravated by being told that he needed therapy and he had a disorder, but now he had accepted it. He worked towards getting better and understanding his disorder, so therapy sessions were obviously in order. So he could see why Barney suggested that he help Jake's team. He completely understood it.

But he was irritated as fuck by having to do it.

"I'm _not _a fucking therapist, Barney," Toll whispered harshly, while peering over his shoulder at the still arguing team. They were all in the garage, with Caesar and Yin keeping the Losers at bay while he and Barney grabbed chairs and formed a circle on the mats for their impromptu therapy session. He stepped closer to the Italian as they set down one of the final chairs. "I can barely keep myself in line and you expect me to get these kids in line?"

"I've got faith in you," Barney replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

"It's gonna _take_ some faith for me not to kill them."

Barney chuckled at that. "Just go by what your therapist does with you."

"My therapist has a degree and gets_paid_ to listen to my shit."

"Well if you want payment we can buy you some earrings."

Toll was _not_ amused.

"Toll, it's either that or we kill them," Barney said seriously, turning towards the demolitions expert with a sigh. "And I've got no problem with that. Hell, body disposal would be easy since they're 'dead' anyway. But Jake and Sky seem to be attached. It'll be like if we shot their puppy. I know it's a crap situation for all of us, but give it a shot for them."

Toll glared at Barney. It wasn't even fair that he was using Jake and Sky. The demolitions expert let out an aggravated sigh before nodding. "Fine," he grumbled before grabbing one of the chairs that was set up and plopping down. "Alright you idiots come and sit down. If we gotta do this we're gonna do it now. Take a seat."

It took a few minutes of grumbling—and Caesar and Yin corralling the team—before they were all seated. Caesar was on Toll's immediate left while Yin was on his right. Roque was seated on Caesar's other side while Barney sat next to him. Cougar was on Barney's other side with Aisha next to him and Clay in between her and Yin. Thankfully there was a large space in the center of their circle of chairs so that no one was overly crowded, but the tension in the room made it feel like everyone was far too close together. Toll looked around the group, watching glares being tossed around, before he rolled his eyes and decided to take Barney's advice and start how his sessions normally went.

"How are you all feeling today?" He forced out, sounding like he'd rather be gargling glass than asking how they were feeling.

"Peachy."

"Perfect."

_"__Bien."_

"Happy."

Toll narrowed his eyes at the responses he got from the Losers team. He was strongly debating the merits of killing them or not. As attached as Jake and Sky were, he was sure they would make new friends. Hell he'd even _buy _them a dog. "Enough smartass comments," he grumbled, looking around the group. He decided that asking questions to all of them at once wasn't going to work. He'd need to focus on one person at a time. Spotting the sniper, Toll decided he was the best bet. "Cougar, what do you think about all this?" Cougar looked towards the MMA enthusiast at being addressed, but didn't respond. He just clenched his jaw and stared at him. Toll clenched his own jaw and counted to ten in his head to prevent resorting to murder. Starting with the silent one of the group probably wasn't the best idea. "We're going to be here until you all get this shit off your chest. And I had other things I wanted to do."

"If they don't cooperate we'll handcuff them in different rooms," Barney assured. "We won't make you miss any of the items on your busy schedule."

Toll glared at the man. He was going to be his own therapy by the end of the day.

"Roque betrayed us," Cougar piped up suddenly, catching Toll's attention.

Well that was something he could work with.

"How does that make you feel?"

The sniper sent a look his way that clearly meant 'really?' "Betrayed," the Spaniard deadpanned.

Toll was slowly starting to change his opinion of Cougar being a good kid. And mentally calculating how long it would take to murder the Losers, clean up the scene and come up with a cover story before Jensen or Sky found out. "Elaborate," Yin ordered before their demolitions expert lost his mind.

Cougar worked the muscles in his jaw and tossed a look over to the knife fanatic. It was easy for everyone to see the anger, resentment, and disappointment burning behind his eyes. Roque forced himself not to look away, despite the guilt and remorse he felt. _"Era mi hermano. Ahora… no lo se."_

Roque immediately felt ten times worse.

"My Spanish isn't that good," Caesar piped up with a small frown. "You mind translating?"

"He said Roque was his brother but now he's not sure."

The group all turned to see Sky walking with Jensen, Gunnar, Lee, and Tool. She had her arm in a sling while Jensen had fresh bandaging and sweatpants on. He was holding onto two glasses of orange juice while Gunnar and Lee each had a plate of food in their hands and Tool was carrying a large red plastic container.

"Hey you two, how are you feeling?" Barney asked, smiling in their direction.

"Lucid," Jensen replied with a toothy grin as they made it over to the desk and started sitting down. "What's with the circle anyway? Are we having a powwow? Why weren't we invited to the powwow?"

"Therapy session," Yin answered.

"Therapy?" Jensen asked with a small grin, setting Sky's juice in front of her while their fathers placed their plates down. Tool dropped the box next to the two kids on the desk and started rummaging around, looking for something. Jensen shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth and chewed it slightly before talking again. "Who's the therapist?"

"Me," Toll grumbled.

"You?" Sky asked with a barely stifled laugh and an amused smile on her face. She took a gulp of her juice before smirking. "How's Dr. Phil doing?"

"He deserves a Nobel Peace Prize," Caesar commented before gesturing towards the circle. "You two want to join the feels fest?"

"Yeah, we're gonna have to pass on that one," Jensen said immediately. "We'll just eat and watch. Just act like we're not even here."

Toll glared at the two kids eating—and at the two fathers who were smirking from behind their kids—before turning back to the 'group therapy', zeroing in on the sniper again. "Anything else you want to say?" Cougar shook his head. "Alright, Aisha, you're up," he said. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like we should just kill Roque."

Roque looked like he was about to make a retort, but Toll raised a hand to stop him before looking back at the Bolivian. "Why?"

Aisha gave him a look that meant the answer should be obvious. "He betrayed us."

"Didn't you do the same thing?"

Immediately her eyes narrowed. "No I didn't. I may not have told them who I was, but I still helped them get back stateside, get to Max, and rescue them. I never betrayed them."

"Then explain why Jake was shot," Gunnar retorted.

Aisha gave a helpless shrug. "When they figured out who I am, they came in guns blazing. I knew that they would kill me on the spot so I did what I had to. Jake was the only one in the room without a gun and he was just talking so much so I grazed him and used it as a distraction to get out alive."

Within seconds all the Expendables, except Gunnar, were laughing hysterically.

"Why do you all find that funny?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow.

Toll was the first one to regain his composure, a large smile on his face as he pointed to Jensen. "I _knew_ you were going to get shot one day for talking too much."

"Hey!" Jensen whined. "I don't talk that much!"

"Yeah you do," Sky piped up with a smile as she fumbled around with the fork in her left hand, trying to get a piece of pancake harpooned on the utensil. Jensen glared and tossed a piece of bacon at her while Lee walked around her and started cutting the pieces of her pancake to make it easier for her.

"I don't find that funny," Gunnar spoke up, gruffly, earning a smile from his son.

Toll cleared his throat and managed to gain his composure again—thoroughly glad that he'd heard that bit of news to lighten his mood before he killed someone—and looked back at the group. Cougar had talked and so had Aisha. Now it was down to the two problematic ones of the group. Deciding it really didn't matter who went first he just gestured towards Clay. "How do you feel?"

"I think I've made it pretty obvious as to how I feel," Clay replied easily with a glare aimed at Roque.

"Uh-huh…" Toll muttered. He wasn't gonna get any more than that out of Clay so he turned to the final member. "What about you Roque? How do you feel?"

Roque opened his mouth to respond but Clay cut in. "It shouldn't matter how he feels. He's the one who betrayed us."

"You know what, why don't you try shutting the fuck up for a minute, hm Clay?" Roque retorted viciously. "Because that's your problem, and it's always been your problem! You keep talking and talking and running your damn mouth, but you don't listen!"

"Excuse me?" Clay hissed dangerously.

"You heard me!" Roque shouted, jumping to his feet. Within seconds Clay had jumped up and the two men lunged for each other, fists flying and a brawl quickly starting. Barney and Caesar quickly jumped up to hold back Cougar from getting into the mix while Yin was holding back Aisha. The others at the desk were shouting and watching the scene while Toll was calmly sitting in his chair, watching the two men exchange kicks and punches—Roque landing a particularly nasty left hook on Clay's face.

"Jump in any time, Toll!" Barney shouted at the man still sitting nonchalantly.

"I think they're making great progress."

The Italian glared in his direction.

Gunnar and Lee surged forward, the knife thrower going after Clay while Gunnar grabbed the scruff of Roque's jacket roughly and yanked him back. Roque started flailing wildly trying to fight off the blonde, but the larger man caught him in an ironclad chokehold. All Lee did was shove Clay back and pull out a knife, pressing it to the base of his throat. Clay still seethed and looked like he was ready to try and attack Roque again, but his self-preservation instincts were strong. He stayed put.

"You never fucking listen!" Roque exploded after he couldn't fight off the large blonde holding onto him. "I told you to drop the whole revenge bullshit! I told you that you were losing the men! I told you not to trust Aisha! But you didn't fucking listen! We went through all this shit because you had a vendetta against Max, when she could've made one phone call and gotten us home without any of it happening!" The demolitions expert shouted, throwing an arm in Sky's direction—the brunette girl pausing with a piece of pancake in her mouth and looking around in surprise at being mentioned in the argument.

"It would've been no different!" Clay shouted trying to get past Lee without any success. "We would've had to trust her too just like we did with Aisha!"

"Like _you_ did with Aisha!" The knife fanatic screamed. "Sky is Jensen's sister! He knew her for _years_! You knew Aisha for less than twenty-four hours and within the first few hours you knew her, she attacked you and burned down a hotel!"

"She's not the one who turned us in Roque!"

"I didn't know what else to fucking do!"

"Huh…" Toll muttered for the first time, standing up and getting in the middle of the Gunnar and Roque and Lee and Clay. "I'm starting to see what the problem is here. You were a coward," he said, pointing to Roque before turning around to point at Clay. "And you're a dick."

_"__What?"_ Both men exclaimed indignantly.

"You were afraid of what would happen, so you sold them out," the MMA enthusiast observed as he looked to Roque—who had stopped struggling and was just looking at his fellow demolitions expert. When he turned to Clay again and saw the colonel looking flabbergasted. "And you were thinking with your dick instead of your head. You should've listened to your men."

"Are you saying that this is _my_ fault?" Clay hissed.

"Yeah, I am. It's your fault and it's his fault. So suck it up, admit you were wrong, quit your bitching, forgive each other and move on. I'm not doing this therapy shit again."

"I admitted what I did was wrong. I apologized," Roque muttered.

All eyes in the room turned to Clay who was just looking at his second in command. He narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a moment. It was obvious to everyone that he was working the muscles in his jaw in anger and frustration. It was silent for a few more minutes before Clay nodded and spoke through clenched teeth. "I apologize for… not listening to you," he struggled to get through the apology. It was obvious he didn't mean it, but no one really thought that they'd get a better attempt for him.

"Perfect, they're both sorry. Are we done?" Lee asked looking around to make sure the situation wasn't going to break down into a fight again. After a few seconds with no outward signs of aggression he removed his knife from Clay's neck and soon each of the Expendables let go of the person they'd been restraining. When no one started attacking anyone else, Jensen and Sky breathed a sigh of relief. No one would be dying.

"For the record," Barney spoke up, moving to the center of the circle to look at the Losers. "Admitting your mistakes is one thing, meaning it is another. And forgiving someone is a whole other can of worms. No one's forcing you to forgive each other. No one's asking you. But as someone who's been there before—as a team that's been there before—it's not worth it to hold a grudge. Do whatever you gotta do to forgive and get past it. If not… you'll regret it in the long run."

"I wouldn't be here today if they hadn't forgiven me," Gunnar piped up, tossing a smile around to his team.

"Well, this has turned into quite the Hallmark moment," Tool piped up in amusement, catching everyone's attention and breaking the atmosphere as he finally fished out a pill bottle from the container. He opened the bottle and popped out two pills and handed them to Jensen before doing the same to Sky—who was noticeably less enthusiastic about the medication. "Bottoms up."

Without hesitation Jensen downed the pills with Sky following suit after a small sigh. "If I'm passed out on the couch within the next hour, it's not my fault," she muttered before finishing off the food that was on her plate.

"You got it, but until then, you two are watching the front desk and taking in customers."

"But Tool—"

"No but's," Gunnar cut off as he looked to his son. "You two do all chores your asked. Now go on and work the front desk."

"But—"

"No but's Sky," Lee repeated what Gunnar had said. "No trying to worm out of this. Straight to the desk you two."

Jensen and Sky shared helpless looks before looking back at their parents and started speaking in unison. "But—"

"We said no."

Jensen and Sky shared one last look before sighing and getting up. Sky chugged the rest of her juice while Jensen shoved a final piece of bacon into his mouth. They started walking out of the room before pausing and turning back around to look past their parents and at the sole sniper in the room. "Hey Cougar, do you mind letting us borrow a shirt?" Jensen asked his best friend.

"Yeah, because apparently our fathers won't even let us ask if we can get actual clothes before we start," Sky added on.

Gunnar and Lee both paused while the other Expendables laughed. For the first time they realized that both their children didn't have shirts on. Jensen and Sky both had on sweatpants—and Sky had on a sports bra—but that was it. And they were just going to send them to the front desk where anyone could see them in the front window. "Smartass," Lee muttered before heading for the door and walking past his daughter.

Gunnar headed for the door as well, speaking to the kids before disappearing out the door. "We'll get you two some shirts. Stay put."

"Aye, aye."


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. This chapter was pretty difficult to write, because it's essentially filler with a bit of plot mixed in. And it was hard, because I wasn't sure how exactly I wanted it to go and how I wanted the characters to interact. I ended up rewriting this chapter at least five different times before ending up with this as the end result. I'm not one-hundred percent happy with it, but it's a lot better than what I was originally going to go with, so I'm around 82 percent happy with it. And I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for too long! But after this chapter we get to see the girls finding out about Jensen being alive, 'the talk' with Cougar and Jensen, a little bit of matchmaking by Jenny and Lacy, and the reappearance of Pooch and Jolene with their itty bitty baby. Then from there on, things she begin to pick up, because I'll be writing the 'Gauntlet' chapters. The Gauntlet, and what it is will be explained in later chapters. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer:I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 7th, 2013_

Sky was pretty sure her father was trying to say something subtly. But since he was an Expendable and Expendables seemed to be lacking severely in the 'subtly' department it was pretty obvious what he was trying to do. Staring in the mirror at the large oversized pink t-shirt with 'Daddy's Girl' written on it in bold black letters—a shirt she _certainly_ didn't remember buying—she didn't need to guess who the shirt was meant to address. And even if she did have any sort of doubts, her father glaring at Cougar and twirling his knife as Yin had helped her into the shirt was a pretty big tip-off. To his credit, Cougar seemed to be amused by the 'subtle' message instead of being intimidated. She couldn't tell if Cougar enjoyed taunting her father, didn't care what he thought, or didn't know the things he could do with just a knife. Ignorance was bliss, but if he truly didn't know how dangerous her father was, ignorance would earn him a knife to the heart.

Gunnar hadn't gotten Jensen any shirts with hidden messages in it. Unless he was using Jensen's Batman t-shirt to send some sort of message of justice and despair, but she highly doubted it.

"Cute shirt," Caesar spoke up, looking as if it was a physical struggle to keep from laughing or smiling in amusement. "Lovely message it has."

She narrowed her eyes at him through the mirror before turning around to glare at him. "Thanks," she muttered sarcastically.

"I can't imagine why you don't wear such a nice shirt all the time," the heavy weapons specialist continued, his lips twitching. "I mean, I'm sure your new friends like that shirt too. Don't you guys like the shirt?"

Sky looked over towards the Losers in a way that clearly said 'don't answer that' before she looked back at the man currently tormenting her, a wicked grin forming on her face. "You know what? I'm so excited for when Haley and Celia get into high school. I'll be sure to give them _tons_ of advice about boys."

Caesar sobered immediately. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Lee, keep your demon child away from my two little angels!"

"Hey, no calling _my _little angel a demon child," Lee retorted easily.

"But she's—"

"Haley and Celia are seven. You have time," Barney pointed out, ending the argument.

"Besides, _you're_ the one who started it," Toll reminded, nudging Caesar's arm with a grin on his face.

"Well, Caesar got one thing right," Lee smirked. "I think it's a lovely shirt."

_"__Yo tambien,"_ Cougar said with his own smirk on his face.

Clay, Roque, and Aisha had to try to stifle laughs and Jensen shared a quick nervous look with his sister. He made a mental not to half 'the talk' with Cougar before he got himself killed. "So…" the blonde cleared his throat, trying to get the attention off of his sister and his best friend. "What's… going on in… sports?"

Everyone turned to look at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion while Yin shook his head. "You're like Gunnar."

"No ability to act under pressure," Sky agreed, sharing a smile with her mentor despite her steadily growing pain.

"Hey, I can act under pressure!"

Sky raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, Skippy?"

_"__You _were the one who knocked out the secretary!"

"She was annoying me and she was calling security. It was a valid reason. Besides, _you_ hit the security guard in the face with your briefcase and then pretended you were a government project. And that only worked because Cougar's a hell of a shot and was watching our asses."

Cougar smiled in her direction and tipped his hat.

"Skippy wasn't even the _worst_ one," Roque spoke up with a smile appearing on his face as he pointed to the hacker. "Remember Mikey?"

"Mikey the Cable Repair Man," Clay laughed loudly, nearly doubling over in his seat.

"Mikey the Cable Repair Man?" Gunnar repeated with a raised eyebrow.

Jensen blushed at the particular memory. He _still_ hadn't gotten over the fact that the nanny—the flamboyantly _gay_ nanny—started hitting on him and making sexual remarks that had him putting all the tomatoes in the world to shame. "It was the only way to get into the house," he muttered, trying to hide his pink cheeks.

"Randy the Roach Killer," Cougar added on.

Jensen's cheeks turned pinker and he pointed an accusing finger to his friend. "You were Raul the Rat Catcher with me, so you have _no_ room to judge."

Cougar snapped his mouth shut and lowered his hat over his eyes as his cheeks flushed slightly.

"Raul the Rat Catcher?" Aisha laughed, looking at the hacker and sniper in absolute amusement.

"It was a mission in Cuba," Clay chuckled, shaking his head at the memory. "The only way to tap into the security feed was to go into the basement. So we had to improvise."

"Kiddo, you've got some weird aliases," Tool laughed.

"Sky's aliases are a black market human trafficker, a mob leader, and a detective," Barney piped up with an amused smile as he gestured to the smirking brunette. "Better step your game up Jake, your sister is making you look bad."

"But that's nothing new," Sky put in with a grin before Jensen glared her way.

"You know what, I'd like to see _you_ hack into a NSA mainframe, collect information, and get back out while cleaning your digital footprint so no one even knows you were there," the blonde challenged before smirking triumphantly. "Or at the very least, know when your Wi-Fi is turned on."

Sky's cheeks colored and she glared at her brother. "That was _one _time."

"Yeah, and it took a week before you even decided to ask what the problem was."

Sky was about to retort, but Lee cut her off. "Alright you two, we get it. You both have different specialties. Right now what we should be doing is planning what our next move is," he reminded the group, and bringing a sense of seriousness back to the group. The fun from just a few minutes ago was gone, replaced with a determined and pensive atmosphere, everyone wondering what they should do to get to Max. Lee looked around content that the attention was back where it should be, before looking to Jensen and Sky. "And you two should be organizing the desk."

"Aw, but Lee—"

"Now."

Jensen pouted dramatically before shuffling over to the desk with Sky following close behind. They both took their seats at the desk and started gathering up the papers all over the cluttered desk.

"Alright, so the floor is open to any ideas," Barney said, opening his arms in a gesture that invited anyone to speak.

"We need a way to find Max," Aisha said immediately, her amusement from before gone.

Gunnar shrugged. "And how do you propose to do that?"

The others all started shooting out some ideas while Sky started blinking in a vain attempt to clear her head as she started down at the papers in her left hand. Her head was pounding and getting fuzzier even though the pain in her shoulder was starting to dwindle. But instead of pain in her shoulder, her stomach was starting to hurt, a tell-tale sign that the pain medications were—once again—much too strong for her to take. It was taking every ounce of acting ability she had in her to keep up with a normal act. _Everyone_ was in the front portion of the shop, so she didn't have the luxury of being alone so she could curl up into a ball. Instead she could only keep her head low as she and Jensen pretended to organize the papers on the desk—in reality they were just shuffling them about to make it look like they were doing something productive.

"We can get some feelers out," Tool suggested, looking entirely too comfortable with a cigar in between his lips and his legs kicked up onto the seat in front of him. All the others were sitting around in the tattoo chairs and stools while Lee, Caesar, and Toll were on the couch. "I've got some guys who owe me favors. If they see any sign of this Max guy, they'll let us know."

"That'll take too long," Clay said as he jumped up from his stool and began pacing back and forth. "We need something quick and efficient."

"Like spending four months in Bolivia?" Barney challenged. Clay turned to look at the man with an expression that showed he wasn't amused. Barney, however, didn't care and just blew out a puff of smoke. "You need something concrete. You can't go off half-cocked at the first sign of him."

"I understand that you are all mercenaries, but you all seem to forget that I'm a Colonel," Clay retorted without hesitation. "I've led my men on enough missions to know how to plan one. I'm not suggesting we go off at the first sign of him. I'm suggesting we go with a plan that won't take months to accomplish and doesn't rely on eyewitnesses that may or may not be reliable."

"Something tangible," Roque put in, before he could stop himself. He was too used to being Clay's XO and it was difficult not to chime in when he was going over plans.

Clay's back stiffening was the only indication he gave to his annoyance. "Something tangible," he repeated with a nod. The group was thoroughly relieved that he was trying to play nice and not starting an argument. "Max was in the Port of Los Angeles. We can try to track him, find out where he went; getting tangible leads."

"Yeah, go ahead Sherlock. You and the rest of the Scooby gang can go split up and search for clues," Lee snorted.

"Why can't we use Sky's contact in the CIA?" Roque asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sky immediately felt eyes on her back and she made a mental note to kick Roque's ass the second she was physically able. No matter how much they joked and acted normal just minutes ago, she knew that the Expendables were still not happy with the whole Church thing. And they would definitely not be letting it go anytime in the near future. She rotated her chair slightly—trying not to appear as dizzy as she felt—and looked towards the others. "Church's supposed to give me a call back after he does a little digging on everything."

"Is he supposed to call about anything else?" Yin asked.

"No sir."

"Well then it's a good thing that we have your phone," Caesar piped up. "We all would like to have a little chat with him."

"What's wrong with Church?" Aisha asked, looking around at the Expendables, studying their expressions. "This has to do with Jensen mentioning him trying to kill you all, doesn't it?"

"You told them about our missions?" Toll asked with a raised eyebrow as he turned to his protégé.

Jensen paled as he looked at his mentor, wondering how he was going to get out of having to give an explanation, but thankfully Aisha came to his rescue. "He didn't tell us anything about your missions. He was arguing with Sky and I overheard him say something about Church nearly getting you all killed." Jensen immediately shot the Bolivian a grateful smile and he made a mental note to be extra nice to her and buy her a present later. He wouldn't know what he would do if he got a worse punishment than running all three levels of the Gauntlet. Just that alone always made him exhausted for at least an entire week.

"Well Jake was right. Church nearly got us killed," Barney spoke up, tossing Sky a look that all but screamed 'you should've known better'. "A couple years ago, Church gave us a mission to an island called Vilena. We took the mission under the impression that it was a simple search and destroy mission for a drug cartel that had control over the island. In reality it was a mission to take out one of Church's own men who'd gone rogue. It would've been too costly and caused too much of a media scandal to send in Seals to kill one of their own, so they called us in. It would get done quietly and no one would care if we died in the process. Course, we didn't go down, and we took care of the spook. And just around a year ago he blackmailed us into a mission in Albania—"

"They get the point, Barney," Sky cut him off before he could go any further into his explanation of the mission in Albania.

"But apparently you don't get the point," the Italian fired back. "You know what he's capable of."

"And you know what I am capable of," the brunette retorted, her annoyance starting to build along with the steadily growing headache and pain in her stomach. "I know how to handle myself."

"Clearly."

Sky clenched her jaw as she saw Barney gesture to her arm. "Yeah, well at least after a fight, _my_ face comes out intact," she muttered under her breath, though everyone could hear it. Lee had to stifle a laugh and Yin turned around so no one saw his smile, while Barney raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she muttered quickly, noticing the slightly annoyed look her Godfather was wearing.

"That's what I thought."

Jensen noticed the slight embarrassment on his sister's face and debated whether or not he should use his acting skills—or lack thereof according to both her and Yin—to draw the attention away from her. In the end, he decided to help. After all, he knew she would help him out if he needed it. He cleared his throat again. "So… if we can't talk with Church should I try hacking into the CIA?"

"No, if you try hacking them, they'll be able locate where we are," Clay advised with a shake of his head. "And if we're going to get an edge over Max, he can't know we're coming."

Tool frowned. "Can't you kids hit Goliath again? It worked the first time."

"It only worked because the courier drive was proprietary technology of Goliath," Jake explained.

Roque cleared his throat awkwardly. "And because I called and cut the deal. Wade told me that they fabricated some of the information on the drive to get us to go to the Port of Los Angeles."

"Oh is that all?" Aisha asked in a challenging tone.

"Yeah that's all," Roque retorted with a slight glare her way. It was obvious that while Clay was trying not to start any unnecessary arguments, Aisha wasn't following his footsteps.

"Then what about hacking other people?" Gunnar piped up with a raised eyebrow, the gears in his mind turning as he looked to his son. "Jake, do you still have the information from the courier drive saved onto your laptop?"

"Course, it was the first thing I did," Jensen assured.

"But what good would that do?" Caesar frowned. "The information wasn't true."

"Like Roque said only _some_ of the information was fabricated," the Viking reminded the heavy weapons specialist. "Jake, do you think that you can go through the information and find out which ones were planted?"

Almost immediately, Jensen saw where his father was going with his train of thought. A large smile stretched across his lips and he nodded eagerly. "It may take a while, but I can do it. And once we figure out what information was implanted, then we can see which ones are accurate."

"Which you can then use to see where that courier drive has been," Gunnar added on.

"Which would allow us to see where _Max_ has been," Clay completed, finally catching up with the thought pattern of the two geniuses. "We'd be able to find any known associates of Max."

"Tangible leads," Roque grinned.

Before anyone could say anything a loud piercing ringing filled the room and everyone turned to Lee, the source of the sound. He frowned and reached into his pocket before pulling out the black smartphone that Church had given Sky. The knife thrower took one look at the screen and narrowed his eyes maliciously before picking up the phone. "Hello friend," he hissed into the phone, a malicious grin on his face. "She's busy at the moment, but I'd be more than happy to speak with you," Lee said, already hopping to his feet and twirling his index finger in a circle to show the others to start moving out.

"Jake, Sky, we're going to go speak with Mr. Church," Barney spoke up even as Lee and the others started to file out of the room, checking their side arms as they walked out. "Tool, watch the kids and if there's any problems, call us. Jake, get to work on that courier drive. And Sky you stay working at the desk."

No one issued any complaints and soon the Italian was out with the rest of mercenary men, heading towards the garage. There was a few seconds of silence before the roar of engines filled the shop and soon the Expendables were gone.

"Man I hope they don't actually kill Church," Jensen muttered as he got to his feet to start moving towards the stairs. "We've got enough problems with the CIA as is."

"Let's hope your parents don't let their anger get the best of them," Tool chuckled. "Just hustle on up and get your laptop. As for the rest of you kiddos, if you're gonna stick around here, you're gonna help out. Who wants to volunteer to do dishes and who wants to help make dinner?"

* * *

In hindsight, Clay supposed that he should've jumped at the opportunity to do dishes. Since Aisha had volunteered to help make dinner—before immediately announcing that for dinner they were going to be eating pizza—and Cougar had been kind enough to volunteer to do dishes, the two were in the kitchen with Tool and Jensen—the latter who was working on his laptop while the former supervised everything. So that just left Clay in the shop with Roque and Sky. The atmosphere was obviously tense, since the two men were at opposite ends of the shop, actively trying not to look at one another, while Sky was silent ignoring the tension going on in the room around her. Clay was passing the time by running through a potential plan of attack whenever they got an name and address from the courier drive—and silently praying that one of the other members from his team came back into the shop to curb the awkwardness. The sound of falling papers caught his attention and he looked to see a large stack of papers scattered all across the ground near the desk with Sky looking completely frustrated and exasperated.

Without hesitation Clay hopped up from his seat and moved to start picking up the papers, only to look up briefly and see that Roque was doing the same. Clay chose to ignore him and instead looked up to Sky. "Do you need any help with these?"

"I've got it," she assured, trying to wave them away.

"You sure you got it with just one arm?" Roque asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They just slipped," she retorted while clenching her jaw tightly.

"Why don't you try and take a break?" Clay offered as he picked up his pile and placed it onto the desk next to Sky's hands. Roque did the same, making sure every piece of paper was off the floor. "You were woken up early."

"I was woken up at eleven," she fired back before she thought it over for a second. "But I could use a break. Can you two watch the front? And not kill each other?"

"We can watch the front," Roque replied, not at all addressing the second part of her plea.

Either that was good enough for Sky or she couldn't be brought to care at that point in time. "Great. All you gotta do is just sit here at the front. If someone comes in, ask for their name, ID, and what sort of tattoo or piercing they want to get. The book on the desk explains the general ballpark cost of each thing. If you need help, just wake me up or call Tool. Same thing if the phone rings. And if you get bored, you can organize all those papers alphabetically and by the type." With that she got out of her chair and moved over to the couch, easing herself down so she was stretched out, taking care to not jostle around her injured shoulder. "Don't kill each other," she muttered right before she closed her eyes. It was only a matter of minutes before she had completely drifted off, essentially leaving Roque and Clay alone to fend for themselves.

The tension in the room was intense and both men refused to even look at each other. They just began shifting through the papers Sky had been taking care of and started organizing them for the brunette. Clay shuffled through his stack and noticed that his were mostly tattoos. He started organizing them alphabetically by last name while occasionally reading through what tattoo each person got. He saw a few that were completely ridiculous—the rainbow cupcake and the 'majestic unicorn' were among some of the ones he found most outlandish—and started getting lost in just reading through what sort of tattoos people wanted.

"Aw hell no!"

Clay looked up immediately and turned to see Roque cringing and all but throwing a sheet of paper as far away from him as possible. Roque looked at Clay, sensing the eyes on him, and he screwed his face up in disgust and vaguely gestured to the sheet of paper. "Some dude got _two_ Prince Albert's."

Clay cringed. "What self-respecting man gets their dick pierced?"

"One who has clearly lost his mind," the demolitions expert muttered in disgust. "I would rather get shot."

"I agree."

Roque turned to Clay in surprise that his CO had actually _agreed_ with something he said, but before he could comment, the door to the shop opened, catching their attention. A boy who didn't look more than nineteen years old walked in. He had his jeans sagging low so that his black boxers were visibly, his shoes were partially untied and he was wearing an oversized jacket and hat. It was obvious that he was trying to look cool. But a white kid trying to act like a thug—and doing a very poor job of it—was _anything_ but cool. "Can we help you?" Clay asked, with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Yo, wazzup home dogs? Where's the fine piece of ass that kicks it here?"

It took every ounce of willpower for Roque not to bust out laughing in this kid's face. He felt his lip twitch and he shared a quick look with Clay, only to see the colonel shooting a knowing and amused look at the demolitions expert. "She's currently occupied," the colonel replied easily, trying not to even look in the direction of the sleeping brunette on the couch. If he didn't acknowledge her, this kid probably wouldn't even notice. "What can we help you with?"

"I'm here for a tat. I need one that shows what a badass I am and so none of these punk-ass pussies think to step to me, ya know what I'm saying, G?"

Instead of responding with an amused 'no', Roque composed himself. "What's your name, kid?"

"Name's Burnout."

"I wonder why," Clay muttered underneath his breath, causing Roque to chuckle slightly before smothering it.

"What'd you say, pops?"

"Your real name, kid," the demolitions expert explained, holding his hand out. "Let me see your ID."

'Burnout' quickly pulled out his wallet—which of course had skulls all over it—and handed it to Roque. The second he opened it and saw the picture ID, he snorted and showed it to Clay who started chuckling as well. "Eugene? You're trying to go around acting like you're street and your name is _Eugene?"_

"Hey, don't call me that! My name is Burnout, homes!"

"Alright, _Burnout_, what kind of tattoo do you want?" Clay asked, trying to maintain his poker face as Roque handed the kid back his wallet.

"I want somethin' badass, and somethin' that shows I'm a hustler, so I was thinkin' a playing card with fire all around it, ya know what I'm saying?"

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Which card?"

"I'm thinkin' a Queen."

At that moment, Roque and Clay shared a look—full of judgment and amusement for the kid standing in front of them—before they doubled over in laughter. Roque was gripping the sides of the desk to keep himself upright, while Clay was hitting his fist on the desk, trying to regain his composure as he continued to laugh his ass off. "Y-You… y-you…" Roque tried to get out to no avail.

"You… want a _flaming Queen_ tattoo?" Clay managed to get out before he and Roque went into a new round of laughter.

"Oh I'm _sure_ no one would wanna mess with you after that!" Roque laughed.

"Yo, what's so funny man?" Burnout demanded, indignantly. "Why you bitches laughin'?"

That just made the two soldiers laugh harder.

"Yo forget this shit! I'm outta here! You some punk-asses!"

And with that, Burnout stormed out.

It took a few more minutes of laughing before the two men finally got control of themselves and managed to regain control of their breathing enough to speak. "Poor kid is as dumb as a sack of hammers," Clay smiled, shaking his head.

"I wonder how many tattoo shops he's going to go to before someone actually agrees to do it," Roque mused with another chuckle, before he looked to Clay with a grin on his face. When he saw his CO smiling back, it reminded him of all the times he and Clay would just sit down and bullshit about anything and everything whenever they had time off missions. Roque felt guilt wash over him again and he averted his eyes to the papers on the desk and started moving them about absentmindedly. "Hey… uh Clay, I just… I wanted to say I'm really sorry man. I know what I did was wrong. I just… I didn't know what else to do."

Clay's laughter trailed off and he watched his XO for a few seconds. He had known Roque for years. He knew the man. He knew every time he was annoyed, every time he was upset, every time he just finished messing with Jensen. He knew whenever he was trying to put on a brave face for the others and he knew whenever he was sincere. And at that moment, Roque was as sincere and vulnerable as he'd ever seen him. And it reminded him of the night in Bolivia when his demolitions expert all but pleaded with him to ditch the revenge plot and just get them home. The colonel clenched his jaw and exhaled loudly through his nose and nodded. "I know you didn't, but it doesn't make it right. But Jensen's family… they're right. I was… _distracted._ I was too wrapped up in Max, too wrapped up in Aisha. I didn't listen to you. And I'm sorry for that."

Roque looked up in surprise with hope in his eyes. "So… we're good?"

"Yeah… I guess we're good. But Roque?"

"Yeah?"

"You betray us again and I'll kill you myself."

Roque smiled and nodded, knowing that was essentially the same as an approval from Clay. "Sounds fair."

"But _you're_ dealing with winning over Pooch, Cougar, and Aisha by yourself, got it?" Roque groaned dramatically and Clay smirked. "I wonder who's going to be harder, Cougar or Aisha?"

"Forcing myself to play nice with Aisha is going to be a small miracle in itself."


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry for not updating in a quite some time. The reason it took so long to get this chapter out wasn't because I was having a hard time writing. No, the reason I haven't updated in a while was due to some major technical difficulties; in other words, my laptop is dying on me. First my fan wasn't working so anything I wrote on here wouldn't save because it would shut off. Then my dad took it apart to clean the fan and cause it to work, but in doing so, he screwed up my mouse. And since this thing doesn't come with a mouse, I had to scavenge my house to find a wired mouse to attach into my laptop, which I'm sure no one has used in over ten years. And of course, the mouse can't work properly, because that would just be too much. So now I'm stuck with using some malfunctioning wired mouse while waiting for the wireless mouse I ordered on Amazon. Essentially, this chapter was written on my tablet (which was frustrating in itself), my notebook, and my email. As soon as I get my new mouse we should be back to regular updates. Anyway enough of my complaining! This chapter contains a lot of Jensen just talking, which we all love, and watching as he tries to keep Cougar alive while giving him 'the talk'. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

Life of a Mercenary

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 7th, 2013_

Tapping away at the keyboard, Jensen split his attention between sifting through the lines of codes and his best friend washing dishes at the sink. Cougar was working quietly, his low whistling the only sound he was making. He seemed completely calm and at ease; in fact he almost looked normal. It was as if he belonged there. And Tool was sitting at the kitchen table next to the blonde, painting his guitar intently. He wasn't tensed or glaring at the sniper's back—or Aisha for that matter and she was just _watching_ all of them. Tool was _acting_ as if they belonged. Jensen wasn't sure if that was a sign the tattoo artist liked and trusted them or if he was just giving them enough rope to hang themselves. Either way he was acting normal and the hacker appreciated it.

It made giving Cougar 'the talk' easier.

Jensen tapped in a few codes that would search the courier drive's records in order to single out any fabrications. Once making sure the search was activated he pushed away from the table and turned to face the Spaniard, clearing his throat. "Cougar, we need to talk." Jensen was vaguely aware of both Tool and Aisha looking his way in curiosity, but he only focused on the sniper. Cougar paused in his task to look back at him and nod, signaling him to go on. He turned back around and continued washing a plate and Jensen immediately knew that his friend didn't understand the gravity of the situation. So he tried again. "Cougar we need to have _the_ talk."

Tool chucked in amusement, Aisha grinned and Cougar froze. He lowered the plate he had been washing and turned off the water. He grabbed a dish towel to dry his hands before hanging the cloth over his shoulder and turning to face the blonde with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to ask Cougar about sex?" Aisha asked with a Cheshire cat-like grin. "Don't you have experience in that area, Jensen?"

Jensen's face turned bright red and Tool and Cougar chuckling did _not_ help his embarrassment. "No!" He said indignantly. When Aisha's grin got wider and Tool started laughing harder he realized his mistake and turned a shade darker. "I mean yes! I have plenty of sex!"

"Oh really?" Aisha grinned wider.

"You mean you've got more game than your father? Good on you!" Tool put in sarcastically.

Jensen glared at the tattoo artist. "I _do_ have game! But this isn't about me! This is about Cougar and Sky!"

Cougar furrowed his eyebrows and looked to Jensen in confusion. Sensing his friend's confusion—and sensing a way to steer the conversation away from himself—Jensen started explaining. "Cougs, I'm your friend and as your friend, it's my job to warn you that Lee will try and kill you if you keep challenging him. So, we need to go over the ten steps you need to take in order to survive dating Sky."

"Ten steps?" Cougar asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It started off with only three steps, but I saw fit to expand."

"You gonna bring out the flipbook?" Tool asked in amusement.

"There's a flipbook for this?" Aisha questioned.

"Oh yeah, it's color-coded and everything. Jake took pity on Sky's last boyfriend and gave him a few guidelines to keep him alive."

"It was mostly in an attempt to scare him off, but Billy totally did abide by it and appreciate it," Jensen pointed out before he grinned at Tool. "Would you mind getting the book? It's on my desk." Wordlessly Tool let a smile form on his face and got up, heading for the stairs.

"So you seriously made a flipbook?" Aisha grinned. "Why?"

"It's a very serious matter. Well… that and I had just gotten this new laptop that had this really kickass presentation app so I needed an excuse to try it out," he replied with a sheepish grin and a shrug. "Anyway, pop a squat Cougs, I'm going to make sure you don't end up dead in some alley."

Cougar just stared at the hacker for a second. He wasn't sure whether he should be amused by the whole situation or worried about the fact that Jensen had actually taken the time to come up with a ten step plan and corresponding book. After a second of internal debate he realized he was leaning very heavily towards the first option and moved forward to take the seat next to the blonde but just across from Aisha. He shared a look with the Bolivian—who looked just as amused as he did—before they went back to looking at the blonde as Tool walked in and handed the book to the hacker.

It was about the size of a clipboard, but it was bound horizontally with spirals so that it could flip open upwards. The cover of the book was black with _10 STEPS TO SURVIVAL_ printed on it in big bold red letters. By the looks of it all the pages, including the cover page, were laminated and some of the other pages had a variety of colors on them. Jensen pulled out a piece that was built into the back of the book that allowed it to prop upright on the table before Tool tossed a small object his way. The blonde caught it with a practiced ease before pulling on it in order to open it up into a small metal pointer. Cougar blinked in surprise and wondered just how much time and effort his friend had put into the presentation he'd created.

"Wow, that looks impressive," Aisha said, trying not to laugh.

"Thanks! You should see the one I made for surviving the zombie apocalypse!" Jensen grinned before clearing his throat and turning to Cougar with a serious look on his face. "Alright Cougar, before we begin I need to know if you intend to pursue a relationship with Sky or if you just want to get into her pants. Because if it's the second option then ten steps get cut down to just one and that's to give your heart to God and kiss your ass goodbye."

_"__No soy esa clase de hombre," _Cougar replied, tossing the blonde a look. _"__Lo sabes."_

"Perfect! Now we can continue! As you are well aware, Sky has been raised in a house of mercenary men. And she is a mercenary as well. This makes entering into a relationship with her delicate and potentially life threatening. But luckily I have constructed a series of steps in order to insure your survival!" Jensen flipped the cover to the first page which was completely white with _Step 1: Know Your Allies and Enemies_ in bold black letters. "The first step to any successful mission is to know who it is you're dealing with. With this situation it is especially important to know who you should go to for help and who you should definitely not talk with about certain topics." Jensen flipped to the next page that was red and had _Barney 'The Schizo' Ross_ in big bold letters at the top, just next to a picture of the Italian man. Underneath the headline there were stats and paragraphs of information with _ENEMY_ stamped over in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

"Let's start off with Barney 'The Schizo' Ross. Barney's nickname 'The Schizo' is well earned through his years as a soldier and a mercenary for his insane plans and tactics that somehow always managed to work in the end. As I'm sure you've already gathered, Barney is the leader of the Expendables and the mastermind behind most of the plans that get put in place. He's been with the team ever since Tool used to be a part of it years ago so he is one of the most experienced mercenaries around. Also along with Tool and Lee, he's known Sky the longest. And you'd think that because of this he'd be the go to guy for advice, right?" Jensen used the metal pointed to slap the table dramatically before pointing the section that said 'Sky's Godfather' just underneath his birthday. "Wrong! Barney is also Sky's Godfather and I'm positive he draws inspiration from the movie. He is very cool and laid-back, but if you start asking questions or making comments that he deems 'unsavory' he will find a way to hurt you in some shape or form. Thus he is firmly in the 'enemy' category."

"Now let's move," Jensen said as if he was a teacher. He flipped the page over so that the next page was visible. Unlike the previous page, this one was colored blue with 'Tool' written on the top with a picture of said man just next to it. At the bottom corner of the page it was stamped 'ally'. "You already know Tool."

"That he does," Tool said with a grin, completely amused by what was going on.

"But what you may not know is that he is a former mercenary and current liaison for the Expendables team. He is essentially the one that plans their missions, comes up with cool new toys like Sky's blade boots, and he just so happens to be the best damn tattoo artist in the state."

"Thanks kid."

"No problem. Anyway, like I said before Tool and Barney were the original ones in the mercenary game before Tool decided to take a break from the guns and killing. He's known Sky just about as long as Barney and Lee, and he is like an uncle to both of us. He is very chill with most things and he enjoys teasing Sky whenever she brings home a boyfriend. But he won't actively hound whoever it is she is in a relationship with, which places him in the 'ally' category."

"I'll be sure to keep them out of your hair as much as I can," Tool assured the Spaniard with a smile.

Cougar nodded. _"Gracias." _

"Now let's move onto Caesar," Jensen said flipping the page to show Caesar's bio sheet on blue paper with 'ally' in the corner.

"So blue paper means ally and red paper means enemy," Aisha observed, prompting the blonde to beam.

"Exactly! Anyway Hale Caesar aka 'The Battering Ram'—because whether he's using his muscles or his guns, he goes right through enemies—is a former US Army Heavy Weapons Specialist. He is very funny and enjoys being comical. Despite his large size he is actually a big softie. Fun fact: if you play the song _A Thousand Miles_ by Vanessa Carlton he will stop whatever he is doing and sing along. Feel free to try it. But he is very easy to relate to and talk to as long as you don't mind his constant flexing. So he is definitely in the ally category."

Flipping the page again Cougar was surprised to see that instead of the other mercenaries, it was a page that said _The Caesar Family_ on the top and a picture of a beautiful woman with two little girls in her arms. It looked like a typical family portrait, but the sniper was confused as to why there was a page about them. "Now, these three ladies are _very _important. This is Caesar's wife Jenny and his two daughters Haley and Celia," Jensen said, pointing to each girl in turn. "They are allies that you _must _acquire as soon as possible. Jenny is very vocal and likes to state her opinions and Haley and Celia can convince most of the Expendables of certain things. If you manage to get them as allies, they will support you and help you in any way they can. So if you can get Caesar and his family pro-Skougar you're in good shape."

The Spaniard raise an eyebrow and shot his friend a look. "Skougar?"

Clearing his throat, Jensen pretended he hadn't heard Cougar at all. He flipped the page over to a purple page that showed the Expendables demolitions expert. "Here is Toll 'The Destroyer' Road, known for his destructive bombs and explosions; plus he can totally demolish people in a fight. He is an interesting and delicate case. Toll has avoidant personality disorder so you've got to be very careful about what you say to him and decipher how he is feeling at any given moment. Oh and under _no_ circumstances are you to bring up his cauliflower ears. It'll just start a rant and put you on his shit-list for like a week. So Toll can be both enemy and ally which is why you should…" Jensen paused so he could use the pointer to circle a stamped portion that said 'handle with caution' "…be _extremely _careful with how you approach him."

"Now let's look into my dad," Jensen grinned flipping the page so that they could see the red page with the older blonde's picture in the corner. "Gunnar 'The Viking' Jensen, while I love him dearly, is most definitely an enemy. Based on the conversation we all had last night, I'm sure you're all aware that my dad as had some issues with drugs. He is good now, of course, but he is a little _unstable. _He is also very protective of me and Sky and likes to go through a hazing process with any new guys that show up to date Sky. He will more than likely give you false information, set you up in difficult situations, or just give you a hard-time in general. After you get to know him a while, he'll warm up to you and become an ally, but until them, keep your distance. But one man you need to work hard to impress is Yin 'The Dragon' Yang," Jensen stated flipping the page over dramatically.

Yin's page was red and in the biography portion Cougar noticed _EXTREMELY DANGEROUS _and _NINJA _under the category that said 'need to know'. "Yin Yang is our resident martial arts expert and can kill a man without any weapon whatsoever. Seriously, he doesn't need any. Sky has told me stories about him taking guys down with just a pair of pots. And if that isn't enough, he's Sky's martial arts instructor so she's well on her way to that level of badassery. But because he's her instructor, he's become very overprotective of her. And he's got high standards with who he thinks she should date. Honestly he never really even interacted with Billy much unless it was necessary. Something about him not being strong enough for her I guess. But he is definitely an enemy. Don't make him mad."

"The short little guy is a martial artist?" Aisha asked, clearly impressed.

"Yes he is. And don't comment about his height. He takes offense to that. I know from experience."

Tool started laughing. "You mean like the time you were taking pictures and measuring your height against his?"

Jensen blushed. "Yeah, then he kicked me to the ground and _then_ measured his height while I was on the ground. My ego is still bruised."

"You should've known better kid."

Jensen pouted and grumbled slightly as he flipped the page over to show a blue page with 'Lacy' on the top and a picture of a pretty woman with light brown hair. "This young lady is Lacy Christmas. Well… she's not _technically_ a Christmas yet, since she's still just Lee's fiancé, but that's just minor details. Anyway, this is the closest thing to a mother that Sky has had for a long time. She cares deeply for Sky and along with Jenny, she is the person she turns to talk about girly stuff… at least I think that's what they talk about. I never really want to know, but she is definitely an ally that you _need_ to have at all costs, since she can either sway Lee in your favor or against you. And speaking of Lee," Jensen commented, flipping the page to a red one with Lee 'Knives Out' Christmas on the top. Cougar also noticed a bunch of pictures of skulls or knives along the border of the page with 'enemy' and 'no mercy' stamped in red in the corner. "Now we're onto the hardest critic and the person you do _not_ want to challenge, Sky's dad."

Cougar smirked. _"__Te refieres a besarla delante de el?"_

Jensen's eyes popped open and he looked like he was going to have a heart attack while Tool shook his head, muttering 'suicidal kid' under his breath. "You kissed her in front of him?" When the sniper nodded, Jensen threw his hands up, nearly losing the pointer in the process. "Cougs! He's called 'Knives Out' for a _reason_! He will _kill_ you!" Cougar continued to smirk. Jensen removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Challenging Lee is a _very_ big no-no. Lee is really the only biological family Sky has, so he can turn into a lion when it comes to her. He will eat you alive if the need arises. No one is ever good enough for her. You would need to bust your ass and be damn impressive if you want to get on his good side; if you want his _approval_ to date Sky, then I'm ninety-eight percent sure you need to carve out your own heart with a rusty spoon and present it to him as an offering."

Cougar raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Jensen, however, looked completely serious. Before the sniper or the hacker could say anything, however, a loud high-pitched noise emanated from Jensen's laptop. The blonde immediately jumped before closing his metal pointer and grabbing for his laptop. He focused on the lines of code, scrolling through to sort out all the false information that had been sifted out. Once making sure that was everything, he quickly got rid of the falsified info and smiled at the remaining list on the screen. "Got it! I've got the list of places Max has been in the past five years."

"I'll go tell Clay," Aisha said without hesitation, jumping to her feet and heading towards the shop portion of the building.

"Good work kid," Tool smiled. "Now save your work and hand over the laptop."

"Wait, what?" Jensen blinked.

The tattoo artist chuckled. "You're still grounded, remember? No electronics for you until after you run the Gauntlet. So hand it over."

"But Tool—"

"No 'but's'. Hand it over. You get it back later so you can show your dad and the others."

Cougar continued to listen to the hacker whine and complain as he begrudgingly handed over the laptop. The sniper smiled slightly before getting to his feet and walking over to the door to check on the others. As soon as he entered, the first thing he noticed was the tension between Roque and Aisha as they glared at one another, though Clay didn't seem to be adding onto the animosity. It almost reminded him of the time before the Miami job, when Clay just watched with slight amusement and exasperation at their bickering.

The second thing he noticed was the fact that Sky wasn't at the desk. His eyes flickered around the room before he caught sight of the pink t-shirt the mercenary had been wearing. The Spaniard smiled slightly, seeing the brunette asleep on the couch. That was before he _really_ started to look at her and realized something was wrong. He could see her clenching and unclenching her jaw as she breathed in deeply and shakily through her nose even in her sleep. Her cheeks had lost all color and her left hand was clenched so tightly on her stomach that her knuckles were going white.

Without hesitation Cougar was walking towards the brunette, ignoring Clay asking what he was doing and Jensen walking into the room before seeing this situation and calling for Tool. Instead he stopped in front of her and crouched down near the couch. He frowned and reached out a hand to rest on her cheek and he was immediately worried by how hot and clammy her skin was. _"__Estas enferma,"_ he announced her softly, rubbing his thumb over her cheek.

"She asleep already?"

Cougar looked up to see Tool walking over with a bucket in his hand filled with a water bottle, two cans of ginger ale, an ice bag and a pack of cookies with Jensen trailing behind him. Tool sighed slightly as soon as he spotted her face and crouched down beside the sniper, pulling all the items out of the bucket in order to hand it to the blonde hacker. "You should've just given her one," he piped up, trying to balance the cans of soda and water in one arm.

"What's wrong with her?" Roque questioned in confusion.

"This job doesn't exactly offer good insurance benefits, so whenever we get hurt, we try to do our own patch work and self-medicate from prescriptions we already have. And if you haven't noticed, compared to us Sky's tiny. Hell, comparing her to _Yin_ she's still small weight wise. So whenever we give her any pain meds she gets bad reactions because the dosage is too high for her. And the meds I gave her were Gunnar's."

Jensen let out a low whistle. "Aw man, you gave her dads?"

"Yup. I knew she was gonna get a bad reaction, but she needed something for the pain," Tool commented before turning his attention to the sniper beside him. "Hey, I've got this. Trust me I've got plenty of experience dealing with these two kiddos on their sick days."

Cougar looked at Sky once more before silently nodding and getting up to stand by Jensen. "Shouldn't we just bring her up to her room?" Jensen asked, tilting his head to the side. "I mean, I love her and everything, but I really don't want to be the one to clean up after she blows chunks."

"Nice to see the bonds are strong," Tool muttered, tossing the blonde a look. Jensen just shrugged sheepishly and opened his mouth to retort. He didn't get a chance to say anything however, since the door to the shop swung open, catching everyone's attention.

Lacy walked in and stopped short, spotting the new people in the shop. Her eyes were wide, scanning the area and she clutched onto her the phone in her hand tightly. It looked like she was about to call out for Lee or Barney before her eyes landed on Jensen standing beside Cougar. Her eyes widened in surprise and a hand flew up to her mouth. For a split second she just stayed frozen before she screamed in absolute delight. The scream woke Sky up violently, and Jensen barely had time to see Cougar and Tool trying to keep her from moving around before Lacy started running over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Jake! You're alive! You're really alive! Oh, I've missed you!" She cheered, squeezing onto him tight. He blinked in surprise. He had never been really close to Lacy. He didn't expect her to be so excited to see him alive.

"Uh, thanks Lacy," Jensen smiled, patting her back awkwardly.

Lacy pulled back and smiled at the blonde boy, patting his cheek before she noticed Tool and Cougar crouched beside Sky, trying to calm the young mercenary down. She looked just as disoriented as she did earlier, her eyes moving around wildly from Tool's face to Cougar's trying to comprehend what the two men were saying. When Lacy saw the brunette girl's arm in a sling and looking so disoriented her mouth dropped open in horror and she immediately moved towards her, crouching near Cougar and grabbing onto her uninjured hand. "Oh my God, Sky! What happened to your arm?"

Sky looked back at her, blinking rapidly before something akin to recognition flickered in her eyes. "Lacy?"

"Yes sweetheart, what happened?"

"She was shot," Jensen answered, causing Lacy's eyes to widen in shock.

Sky was thankfully lucid enough to notice her horrified look and smiled sheepishly trying to reassure her soon to be step-mother. "Trouble follows me and Jake everywhere… so honestly, this is probably not the worst thing that could've happened."

"That's for damn sure," Tool piped up in amusement.

"Alright young lady, I expect an explanation from you later," Lacy chastised. As soon as Sky nodded her agreement she rounded on Jensen and pointed a finger in his direction. "You too mister."

Jensen blinked in surprise before nodding vigorously. "Uh… okay, yeah sure."

"Good, but right now there are three people looking forward to seeing you," Lacy smiled walking back over to the front door, opening it up and waving someone in. Jenny, Haley, and Celia had all walked in, with the little girls being led in by their mother. Jensen saw the exact moment when Jenny's eyes landed on him—and he was pretty sure he saw a few tears forming. There were two sharp intakes of breath before his attention was turned to the small girls still rooted in their spots at the front door. Haley and Celia were frozen in their spot, their eyes locked on Jensen. Jensen looked back at the girls and immediately a smile stretched across his face. He moved forward slightly before crouching down. He opened his arms wide, ignoring the tug in the stitches on his arm. "Hey girls! You miss me?"

Haley and Celia immediately screamed and sprinted towards Jensen, throwing themselves at him, knocking him onto the ground. They piled on top of him and clung onto him for all they were worth. Jensen was fairly sure he was going to pop a stitch if it kept up, but he ignored it and instead held onto the two girls, kissing their foreheads and positively beaming. "U-Uncle Jake!" Celia shouted, crying into his neck.

"Y-You're supposed to be d-dead!" Haley sobbed, clinging onto him.

"Aw, I'm sorry girls. I'm sorry I had to lie to you, but I had to pretend I was dead," he started explaining, still lying down on the ground. "Remember how I told you girls I did spy stuff?"

"Uh-huh…" Celia muttered, sitting up on Jensen's stomach and wiping away stray tears from her eyes.

Haley sat up as well and tried to control her sobs. "L-Like A-Aunt Sky?"

"Yeah, just like Aunt Sky," Jensen smiled at the two girls. "I had to be a spy for a few months to catch the bad guys. I'm so sorry."

The two girls nodded and continued to cry, clinging onto the blonde while Jenny walked over and crouched behind him, ruffling his blonde hair. "You scare us like that again Jake and I'll don't care how much MMA Toll has been teaching you, I'll kick your butt myself. Got it?" Jenny threatened, though Jensen could hear the teasing tone of her voice. He craned his neck around to flash her a grin before he looked around and noticed that the Losers were all standing around, looking confused and slightly awkward.

Clearing his throat, Jensen bobbed the two girls in his arms, catching their attention. When he saw their watery eyes he smiled and kissed them each on the forehead. "Do you guys want to meet my team?"

Suddenly there were excited smiles on their faces as they rubbed their eyes to wipe the tears away. "Yes!" They both chorused, looking around the room for the first time at the strangers.

"Alright you two just let me get up and I'll introduce you!" The two girls quickly scrambled up to their feet, allowing the hacker to stand—with some assistance from Tool—before he started pointing to the military members around the room. "Guys these are my nieces, Haley and Celia their mom Jenny, and Lee's fiancé Lacy. Girls, meet the Losers! The man in the suit right there, that's Clay. The girl next to him is one of the newest members of our team, Aisha. And you see the guy with the scar? That's Roque. And if you direct your attention behind you, the one next to Aunt Sky is my best buddy Cougar."

"Clay? Like Playdough?" Haley asked, cocking her head to the side and staring up at the colonel.

Clay smiled despite the comment and Roque and Aisha tried to cover up their laughter. "Not quite, no. But it's very nice to meet you ladies."

"What happened to your face?" Haley asked, this time moving onto Roque. The demolitions expert ceased his laughing and straightened, looking at the small girl noticing the apologetic look that Jenny was tossing his way at her daughter's question.

"I… uh… it was a mission we had a while ago. It was before your uncle joined us."

"Did it hurt?" Celia questioned.

Roque scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward at the sudden attention. "Yeah, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Shame," Aisha muttered under her breath, earning a glare from the knife fanatic.

Jensen noticed Lacy and Jenny share a look, neither of the women missing the interaction between Aisha and Roque. Lacy stepped a bit closer to Jensen and away from the door while Jenny began watching her kids like a hawk.

"I like your hat," Celia smiled, looking towards Cougar. The sniper winked at the girl and tipped his hat, causing her to beam. The expression only got brighter when her eyes landed on Sky. "Aunt Sky! You're back!" Haley whipped around to see that her sister was indeed right, before the two girls started running forward to hug her.

Tool managed to intercept them before they could launch themselves at the injured mercenary. "Whoa there girlies! Not too rough, alright? Aunt Sky had a bit of an accident when she went to get Uncle Jake, so you gotta be extra careful, alright?"

"What happened, Aunt Sky?" Haley asked with a frown on her face as Tool let them go. The two girls walked up to the infiltration specialist, eyeing her shoulder.

Sky smiled down at them and kissed them each on the forehead. The pills were effectively drowning out the pain, but her head still swam a bit at the movement. "I fell from a really high place into the water and hurt my shoulder again."

"Are you okay?" Celia asked.

Sky was about to open her mouth to assure them that she was okay when a wave of nausea hit her. She bit down on her lip as she suddenly felt the breakfast she'd had just an hour or so earlier threatening to make an appearance. Before she could even get up to try and make it to the bathroom, she felt hands on her left shoulder and her back before a bucket was placed in front of her. She didn't even have time to see who had given it to her before she was vomiting into the bucket, her body tensing and creating pain in her shoulder with every heave. That in turn only caused more nausea. The person holding onto her started rubbing circles into her back, and if she wasn't too busy purging her stomach, she probably would've been thankful for the moral support.

When her stomach was empty and the heaving finally stopped, the bucket was pulled away only to be replaced by an opened water bottle. She looked up through her watery eyes and saw that it was Tool handing her the bottle. "Rinse," he said simply.

Reaching for the bottle she quickly did what she was told, rinsing her mouth before spitting into the bucket that was now by her feet. Distantly she noticed that Jenny had moved Haley and Celia out of the way, giving her some space, and that it was Lacy beside her with Cougar hovering around restlessly. Once she was done rinsing out her mouth a few times, Tool handed her a can of ginger ale, while using the ice back to place on the back of her neck. The sudden cold was a shock to her, but her skin was clammy and hot, so it was helping her cool off. She took a large gulp of the soda before Tool spoke up.

"Better?" At her nod he exhaled loudly. "Alright, now let's get you on up to your room. You need some rest."

"I'll take her," Lacy immediately volunteered, smiling at Sky sympathetically. "You look like you can use a nice warm shower to relax you, am I right?"

Sky perked up immediately. "Yes, please."

"I want to help Aunt Sky too!" Haley cheered.

Celia nodded enthusiastically. "Me too!"

"I will respectfully decline," Jensen said in slight amusement. "Sky's in good hands. I'm sure she'll be alright without my help and without me having to hold her hair back as she pukes her guts out. Right Sky?

_"__Vete a la mierda."_

Those in the room who understood her comment laughed while Jensen looked insulted and Lacy, Jenny, and the two girls all looked confused. Jensen pouted slightly. "See? She'll be fine."

* * *

Translations:

_"__No soy esa clase de hombre. __Lo sabes."_—I'm not that kind of man. You know that.

___"__Te refieres a besarla delante de el?"_—You mean to kiss her in front of him?

_____"__Estas enferma."_—You're sick.

_______"__Vete a la mierda."_—Go fuck yourself.


End file.
